The Big Four Fanfic Preview
by Noodlekuki
Summary: This is a excerpt of a fanfic I'm thinking about writing. If it gets good feedback, there'll be a whole story. It's a school setting where the four attend, the pairings will be Mericcup and Jackunzel. OFFICIAL STORY CHAPTER UP!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a preview for a 'Big Four' fanfic I'm thinking about writing. The setting is high school where the characters attend. The pairings are HiccupxMerida and JackxRapunzel. This particular excerpt focuses on Jack and Rapunzel. So, if this fic gets good feedback, I'll make another preview focusing on HiccupxMerida and then if that goes well, too, I'll go ahead and write out a full story. So, read and review :)**

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Rapunzel finished readying the tower. She swept up the floors one final time (and the umpteenth time) and Pascal took care of the dust in the hard to reach places. It was the very first time she was expecting company after all; she had to make an impression. Finally, Rapunzel placed the broom against the wall, wiping sweat from her brow. She turned to Pascal, who was just emerging from a little corner. "Well, it's been an hour, Pascal… Does everything look ready?" Rapunzel questioned him.

Pascal nodded, a look of certainty on his little face. Rapunzel smiled, anticipation overwhelming her. She glanced at the clock; its hands ticked closer to the 12. Seven o'clock. The time that had been chosen for his arrival. "He should be here any minute." Rapunzel exhaled and opened the window that looked out onto the calm evening. She breathed in the cool, night air and then let it out. Her eyes became downcast as she peered out at the earth far below. Pascal appeared beside her on the windowsill and nudged her. She smiled at him sadly before she realized what the little chameleon was doing. His eyes gestured to the sky and she followed his gaze. A speck appeared far off, just in line of eyesight, but grew bigger and more identifiable. It was boy, soaring through the air, then plummeting down toward the tower. "There he is. Jack!" Rapunzel shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. She waved.

Within seconds he was at her window, feet perched on the sill. "Hey." He greeted, not at all out of breath from his speedy flight.

"Come in." She spoke, trying to take on the persona of a good hostess. Rapunzel took a few spaces back, giving him room to enter. He did and as soon as his feet touched the floor, the temperature of the room lowered several degrees. Pascal began to shiver and snuggled up to the girl, trying to share the warmth of her pink hoodie. She peeked up at him and Jack quickly realized.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly.

"It's, uh, it's fine." She said, and then cleared her throat, "So, this is my home." She held out her arms.

Jack looked about the main room. "It's, um, a little old-fashioned, don't you think?"

"Yeah… it's sort of been around for a long time…" Rapunzel answered. Jack nodded, then noticed the abundance of paintings along the walls.

"That's pretty cool, though." With his finger, he traced in the air along the different pieces of art.

"Oh, that." Rapunzel giggled nervously. "Actually, I did all those."

Jack's eyes widened and he turned to the girl, "You paint? I didn't know you were into art."

Rapunzel bobbed her head, "Yeah. It's just… something I do to pass the time, I guess." Her gaze averted to the ground.

"You must have a lot of time on your hands, then…" Jack spoke, further inspecting the paintings.

Rapunzel nodded again, though more lightly this time. "Yeah, you could say that." She mumbled. After a couple of moments she announced, "We'll be working in my room upstairs." She turned and gestured toward the staircase. Jack furrowed his eyebrows, curious about her changing the subject, but dismissed it. He followed the girl up the steps, carefully walking around her flowing locks of golden hair. At the top, Rapunzel pushed past deep violet curtains into the next room. Jack quickly entered after. Inside was her bedroom, elegant and feminine as he expected. A large, purple canopy was on one side of the room and there was a vanity nearby. Some paintings similar to the ones downstairs were scattered here and there. "Over here." Rapunzel said and walked toward a bookshelf along the wall.

She plucked a rather thick volume off of the shelf and held it up for Jack to see. It read, The History of Animation. "This ought to take care of pretty much the whole project."

"And… you just happen to have that book lying around at your house?" He raised an eyebrow.

Rapunzel chuckled nervously, "No, actually Mother brought it to me."

"Your mom? Why didn't you just get it yourself?" Jack asked.

Upon hearing this, Rapunzel tensed up. Nonetheless, she answered, "Um… she says the library is pretty far from here and doesn't want me going all the way there…"

"Why? You're 18, right?" Jack further questioned.

"Well, yeah, but…. never mind." Rapunzel shook her head and exhaled, putting on a faint smile, "We should get started, don't you think?"

"Sure, but…" The winter spirit began, however Rapunzel made it quite clear that she'd dropped the subject and was expecting him to as well. "Yeah, let's, uh, let's do it." He offered a grin and she returned it with a satisfied smile, dropping onto her bed. Rapunzel laid down the book and patted at the spot beside her. He came forward and sat down putting down his staff, looking over the book. He opened it and began flipping through; at the very end, in the bottom left corner read the page number. "450 pages… yikes…" He groaned. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught a glimpse of something green dart from Rapunzel's shoulder into the pocket of her hoodie. Startled, he let out a "Whoa!" which in turn surprised Rapunzel.

"What?" She asked, her eyes growing big.

"Something just… just ran down your shirt and, and…" He found himself at a loss for words.

"Oh." Rapunzel laughed, relaxing. "That's only Pascal." She pulled the entrance of the pocket open wider, so that the little creature could be seen. He had his arms wrapped around himself for comfort, snuggled in the deepest crevice of the hoodie's fabric. Rapunzel attempted to coax him out, "Come on out, Pascal. It's okay." The animal stared at Rapunzel, next Jack and then shook his head fervently, going further into her pocket. Rapunzel exhaled, saying playfully, "Alright, have it your way, then." She let go of her hoodie, and Pascal disappeared out of sight.

"So, why exactly do you have a pet chameleon?" Jack questioned.

"Well, he's more of a friend than a pet." Rapunzel turned to face him. "Pascal keeps me company while Mother's away." She explained.

"You don't ever have friends from school over?" Jack asked. Rapunzel shook her head, a sheepish smile on her face. "Not even Flynn?" He tried to hide the venom that seeped from his lips as he spoke the name of Rapunzel's boyfriend. Once again, Rapunzel shook her head.

"You're actually the first person I've ever invited here, Jack." Rapunzel revealed. His eyes widened in disbelief at this discovery.

"Wow… why?" He asked, genuinely concerned. The blonde-haired girl bit her lip, avoiding Jack's gaze. Her fingers found a lock of her hair and began playing with it absent-mindedly.

Finally, she spoke and she did, Pascal poked his head out of her pocket, surprised that she was about to confess, "The truth is-"

She was interrupted by a loud, shrill and sing-song voice, "Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" Rapunzel's eyes grew as wide as saucers as the girl stiffened where she sat.

And then in disbelief, she said, "Mother?!" Jack's eyes got a little big, too. "She's not supposed to be home for at least another hour!" Rapunzel began to panic. After another few moments, the voice yelled again. Rapunzel stood from her bed, stumbling for the curtains. She pulled them apart and shouted, "Coming, Mother!" She then turned to Jack. "Wait in here." And then she disappeared, her hair trailing behind her.

Jack stayed inside her room as told. He leafed through the pages of the book for a little while, scanning over pictures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then, Jack heard voices and his attention left the book. He heard what sounded like Rapunzel's mother talking about her long tiring day and doting on her daughter. Curiosity got the best of him and he made his way to the curtains, peeking through them.

"Rapunzel, be a dear and sing to me, please?" A woman who appeared to be Rapunzel's mother spoke, holding a brush in her hands. She seemed to be a little past middle aged, for she had some gray hairs and slightly wrinkled skin.

"Uh, sure, Mother." Rapunzel agreed, pulling out a wooden chair. Jack cocked an eyebrow. _Sing to her? _He thought. Over the years, he'd seen _little girls_ request their mothers to sing for them instead of the other way around. He continued to watch as Rapunzel sat down in the chair, allowing her mother to take a hold of her hair. And then she began to sing.

"Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fate's design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine…"

Jack's eyes grew large as he saw what unfolded. The short, simple verse that Rapunzel sang was quite literally, magical. Rapunzel's hair golden hair began to glow as she sang, shining as bright as the sun and illuminating the room. And then he looked to the girl's mom, who seemed perfectly calm, but slowly changing. One by one the gray hairs in her head began to turn as black as the rest of her hair; the wrinkles along her flesh began to disappear. Rapunzel's light, airy voice diminished into quietness and her mother withdrew her hand and the brush from the girl. She let out a refreshed sigh and patted Rapunzel's shoulder, "Thank you, Rapunzel."

"It's no problem." She responded modestly and stood from the chair.

"Now, I think I'm ready to start up dinner. Should be ready in a little bit." She said and then went into the kitchen.

"Ok." Rapunzel smiled until she could no longer see her mom. Then she quickly turned on her heel and headed upstairs.

Jack backed up and positioned himself on her bed, pretending to be occupied with the animation book. "I'm back." Rapunzel huffed. Jack waved nonchalantly in return. Rapunzel let out a breath of air and plopped down on the mattress. Then she eyed Jack suspiciously, "Did you hear any of that?"

He tried to keep a straight face, but as he met her gaze, his lips cracked into an ashamed grin. "Sorry."

Rapunzel groaned and asked with worry, "How much did you hear?"

"Um… all of it, I guess." Jack admitted. He watched as her face fell and he started to feel a little guilty for listening in on the events downstairs.

"You're probably wanting an explanation, then?" She asked.

"That'd be helpful." Jack uttered. Rapunzel took in a big breath and then exhaled. She began where she did when she'd been interrupted.

"The truth is I have magical hair and it, well, when I sing it glows." As she finished her sentence, her face quite obviously showed she expected Jack to give her a funny look.

"Yeah, I saw that." Jack responded.

"Yeah, so- wait! You _saw _what happened?" Rapunzel inquired.

A shamefaced grin split across his face like before. "Yes."

Rapunzel's expression grew somber, "I'm betting you think I'm some sort of freak, now, right?" She turned away from him.

"You'd lose that bet." Jack chuckled, good-naturedly. Surprised by this statement, she faced him again, and then a small smile formed upon her lips.

"What makes you say that, Jack?" She cocked her head to the side, eyeing him with interest.

"Trust me, Rapunzel. I spent 300 years feeling the way you do and… well, long story short I know you're not a freak. If anything you're…" He stopped himself, realizing what he was about to say.

"I'm what?" Rapunzel, grinning good-naturedly, pushed for him to continue. Jack gulped and gathered to courage to finish his sentence. Suddenly, the purple curtains to Rapunzel's room parted and her mother appeared in the entrance. Rapunzel blinked looking to her and Jack slightly tensed. The dark-haired lady entered, asking,

"Rapunzel, have you seen the frying pan? I can't find it?" She didn't even glance at Jack. He calmed down; the lady could not see him as he expected.

Rapunzel looked to Jack, then stood from the bed, "I'm sorry, Mother. I was… borrowing it." She apologized and dug into her nearby backpack, pulling out the cooking utensil. She turned and handed it over. Her mom eyed her daughter strangely,

"What were you doing with this?"

"Uh, I bring it to school with me in case, you know, I run into ruffians, thugs, men with pointy teeth, etcetera, etcetera…" As she went on, her voice decreased in volume.

"You're mumbling." The woman eyed Rapunzel sternly as she took the pan into her hands.

As Rapunzel enunciated, Jack watched on, looking over the lady with an immediate sense of dislike. Rapunzel's mom smiled upon hearing her daughter's answer and patted the teenager's head. "Good girl." Then her hands wrapped around herself and she shivered. "Why is it so cold in here, Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel peered over at Jack and he snickered at the lady's discomfort. "Well, it _is _getting close to winter." She offered lamely.

"Might have to invest into those air-conditioning systems…" Rapunzel's mother said in response. "Well, dinner will be ready very soon. Start washing up, ok?" Rapunzel bobbed her head and saw the woman brush past the purple curtains. She twirled around to face Jack once more.

Pascal peeked out of Rapunzel's pocket as his friend approached the winter spirit once more. "So… what were we talking about?" When he heard this, Jack took the opportunity to chicken out from what he was going to say earlier.

"You were explaining your magic hair."

"Right." Rapunzel sat down again. "My hair… it's really special. Something plenty of people would love to get their hands on." Jack thought back to the previous scene he'd witnessed. How Rapunzel's mother had appeared to gotten younger when the golden locks glowed. What Rapunzel said was definitely true.

"Mother tells me that I stay here because it's the only way I'll be safe from people like that." Rapunzel said. Jack nodded to show he was listening, but he was starting to catch on to something. "So you have to _promise _not to tell anybody." She spoke with complete seriousness, leaning in close.

"Sure, no, yeah…. Yeah, I promise." Jack agreed, bobbing his head, a bit taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor. Then he said, "Nobody else knows about your hair?"

"No." Rapunzel said.

"Not even Flynn?" He further questioned, the previous query popping up again.

"Nope." Jack contemplated this.

Then Rapunzel looked him dead in the eye and said, "Jack, every day I go to school and come straight home. On weekends, I'm just here."

Jack returned her gaze with wide eyes. "Are… are you serious? Man… Rapunzel, I can't believe… there is so much you haven't seen…"

"I know." She said, solemnly.

"No… you don't know what you're missing!" Jack stood impulsively, grabbing his staff. "I've got lots to show you," He grabbed her hand, pulling her off the bed. Rapunzel gasped lightly, a shock of cold running through her skin.

"What? But, Jack-" She started as she was led to a nearby window. And then the sound of Mother's voice was heard once more.

"Rapunzel! Dinner time!"

Jack stopped and looked in the direction of the curtains. Rapunzel withdrew her hand from his, "Mother's expecting me…" A wave of disappointment washed over Jack and it was apparent on her face.

"Maybe some other time, though… I'd be more than happy to go." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. A little smile crossed his lips as he looked Rapunzel in her green eyes.

"Rapunzel! Your food is going to get cold!" Another call sounded.

"Coming!" Rapunzel responded over her shoulder. Her hand slipped off of Jack's shoulder and he said,

"I'd better be heading home, anyways…" Jack shrugged. The two headed down the steps.

At the window that led outside, Jack stood on the windowsill. "We didn't get any work done." Rapunzel realized.

Jack laughed, "Well, then I guess that means I'll be coming over again."

Rapunzel grinned, "I guess it does..." Jack took a step back closer to the edge of the sill and placed his hand against the side of one of the window's doors.

"I'm holding you to that offer. You're gonna see the world, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel only smiled, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Jack waved and then turned to the sky, "Hey! Wind! Take me home!" He shouted. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew past and Jack flew off the windowsill. Rapunzel gasped, peering outside of the window. She caught a glimpse of him to her right and then saw him rise up higher and higher until he was by the moon; a small spot of light flying across the sky like a shooting star. Rapunzel sighed in wonder and Pascal made his way back to her shoulder, watching until Jack disappeared out of sight.

"Rapunzel? What are you doing? I told you dinner is ready." The raven-haired lady appeared at the kitchen entrance.

"Oh. Right. I was just… looking outside…"

"Well, close the window… no wonder it was so cold in here…" She said. Rapunzel obeyed and gave one last look at the sky before swinging the wooden doors together and joining her mother for supper.

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**A/N: Review, Follow, Favorite, please! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second preview featuring Hiccup and Merida. So, if this fic gets good feedback, I'll go ahead and write out a full story. So read and review :)**

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Darkness fell over the stone castle nestled in the Scottish highlands; a quiet evening passed for the royal family of DunBroch. The king and queen were occupied with their responsibilities as rulers of the kingdom, the princes- triplets- were off somewhere probably up to no good and the princess was in her bedroom, waiting for her guest to arrive.

Merida examined her bow in the firelight that illuminated the room. "Hm…" She squinted at the wood and then grabbed a small carving knife off of the nearby table. The princess set to carefully embedding an image into the object when there was a banging at the door downstairs. She looked in that stopped what she was doing and looked to the direction of the door. "He's here." Merida said to herself. She stood to her feet and placed the knife and bow down. Before taking one last look at it, she departed her room and headed downstairs.

She heaved the huge doors to the castle open to and there was her classmate standing before her; he held a large, old book under his arm. "Hiccup." Merida spoke out, hands to still holding either door open.

"Hey, Merida." The boy held up his hand as a greeting.

"Welcome." Merida let go of the doors and stood to the side for Hiccup to enter.

"Thanks." Said Hiccup as he came inside. He took in the sight of the ancient throne room and his eyes widened in amazement, "Wow." Merida shut the doors and caught up to Hiccup.

"M-hm. This is my home." She followed his gaze.

"I swear my house is like a shack compared to all of, all of this." He muttered to himself.

"All of this? Hiccup, you haven't seen anything yet." Merida had heard his statement.

"Haven't I? Well then, I guess the mile and a half I had to walk to the front door- plus the five minute journey through halls doesn't count."

"No." Merida shook her head, smirking a bit. Hiccup rolled his eyes and Merida giggled before they looked to the stairwell where Merida's mother appeared.

"Merida? What are you doing down there? Who's that wee lad beside you?" She spoke as she descended the steps. Hiccup winced slightly upon hearing her refer to him as a 'wee lad'. The queen finally reached the two teenagers and eyed the boy curiously. Merida quickly realized why.

"Mom, this is my _classmate_, Hiccup." She hastily cleared things up. "We're paired up to work on a project together for school."

"Oh?" The queen's disappointment was hidden when she managed to stifle a giggle as she heard the boy's name. "I'm Elinor, Merida's mother." She introduced herself.

"Um, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Hiccup said and then bowed, albeit awkwardly.

"Likewise." Elinor responded, graciously, pleased by his politeness. She eyed Merida, looked to Hiccup and then back to Merida. "Such manners. One doesn't find young men like you very often these days." She complimented, glancing at Merida again. Hiccup grinned bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. Merida just looked at her mother incredulously. "Would you like a spot of tea, Hiccup?" She offered.

"We've got a lot of work to do, mom. No time to waste on snacks and such." Merida cut in, hoping to get out of the situation.

"Merida, do not speak out of turn. I was addressing Hiccup." Elinor scolded her daughter mildly, before turning her attention back to Hiccup.

"No thanks, I'm not really a tea sort of guy…" Hiccup declined respectfully and Merida sighed gratefully.

"Oh… alright then." The queen cleared her throat. "Well, you two can be off, I suppose."

Merida bobbed her head and made her way to the stairs. "Let's go, Hiccup." She gestured to the steps.

"Yeah. Right. Uh… again, it was nice meeting you." He spoke to the queen and the simply nodded and watched the two off.

Merida closed the door behind the two and exhaled in relief. "So, then." She turned to her classmate. Hiccup dropped his heavy book onto the nearby table and it landed with a _thunk! _

"What's that?" She eyed it curiously, and pulled out a chair, sitting down.

"Book on the history of animation. I brought it for the project." He replied, sitting down as well.

"Oh, that's right." She scooted the wooden chair closer to Hiccup. "Here, let me see." She leaned over to get a better view. Hiccup moved over a little, blowing away the hair of hers that got in his face. Merida noticed and sheepishly apologized, "Sorry." She pushed a mass of her curly locks out of the way.

"It's fine." Hiccup responded and opened the book. Merida held out her hand and flipped to the title page, which read 'Animation as a Whole: From 20th century to Now: Volume 5'. She flipped to the table of contents. "Twenty Two chapters in all…" She spoke aloud.

"We've got two weeks to do this, so… two or three chapters a day, maybe?" He looked to her.

"Fair enough, I guess. Let's get started." Merida said and thumbed through the pages until she reached chapter one. She looked at the small print that took almost the entire page, save for an image at the bottom. "Do you want to read aloud, Hiccup?"

"Uh… yeah, sure." Hiccup replied and bent down over the book. "Animation began with simple drawings on paper…" He began.

When they were through reading two chapters, Hiccup brought out the project guidelines and directions, which he'd tucked into the back of the history book. "At this point, I think we can start on the first task, right?" he looked at Merida. She eyed over the words.

"The first step to animation is the pictures themselves. The first task of this project is to… draw." Merida spoke aloud and slumped in the chair. She wasn't exactly a talented drawer. Beside her, though, Hiccup was pulling a black journal from the pocket of his green hoodie. "What do you have there?" She sat up straighter.

"It's my notebook. Sometimes I sketch things or write stuff down…" Hiccup placed it on the table and began leafing through it to a blank page. He supplied a writing utensil from the pocket and set its point on the paper.

"What are you going to draw?" Merida asked. Hiccup thought for a second.

"I'm not sure yet." He glanced around her for something to catch his interest.

"How about my bow?" Merida asked, pointing to it. Hiccup looked at it and small smile appeared on his face. He nodded and she brought it closer for him to see. Then he began to draw out lines.

As he drew, Hiccup questioned, "What are you doing with a bow, anyway?"

"I'm an archer…" She said. Then her eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask? Should a princess not care for archery… in your opinion?"

Hiccup carefully avoided stepping on a landmine and replied, "No, no. Actually, where I come from, it's perfectly normal for girls to be into archery, fighting… all of that tough stuff."

"Where you come from sounds great, then." Merida commented.

"Try saying that again after spending 16 years there." Hiccup answered. Merida shrugged and then leaned forward. She examined Hiccup's sketch of her bow and her eyes widened in amazement, a smile pulling at her lips.

"You're a fine artist, Hiccup." She praised him and he grinned at the compliment. "Do you take lessons?" She asked.

"Um… no, I just started as a kid and got better as I got older, I guess…" Was his explanation. "What about you? Do you draw?"

"Just a doodle once in a while." She replied as Hiccup finished his drawing of her bow. "Nothing extraordinary… like that." She looked at it. "Can I see what else you've drawn?" Merida asked.

"Uh, sure." He handed over the book, a little uncertainty in his voice. Merida started from the beginning and looked through the pages. She stopped on one particular page and stared at it from a moment. "Is that a dragon, Hiccup?" Merida queried, looking at the reptile's form.

Hiccup replied, "Yeah."

"It's really good. How were you able to put so much detail into it?" She turned to Hiccup. Before he could speak, there was a knocking at Merida's bedroom.

"Merida?" Her mother spoke.

"Come in, Mother." The red-haired girl called, slightly exasperated. The queen entered the room and glanced at Hiccup and her daughter at the table.

"Did the two of you get a lot of work done?" She asked, walking closer. They teenagers nodded in unison. "That's good. Merida, it's time for supper."

"Yes, mum." Merida stood from her chair and Hiccup quickly did so after her.

"I guess I'll, uh, take this as my cue to scram." He said as he gathered his journal and the animation book.

"No, wait, Hiccup. Why don't you stay and have dinner? It's not often that Merida brings home schoolmates." Elinor halted the boy. Merida stood still, turning slightly red at her mother's last statement.

"Well…" Hiccup rubbed his arm, glancing back at Merida. "If Merida wants me to…" Merida groaned lightly under her breath. Of course, he'd leave the decision up to her. The Queen eyed her daughter imploringly and the princess knew she could not refuse.

"Alright. You can eat with us, Hiccup." She said and Elinor smiled with satisfaction.

"The both of you wash up and come to the dining hall. The meal ought to be ready soon." She then departed the room.

"Come on, Hiccup." Merida said.

As the two washed their hands, Merida glanced down at Hiccup's left leg- or rather lack thereof. "Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you lose your leg?" Merida looked back up to him.

"Oh, uh… freak accident. Huge fire, near death experience. Um…" Hiccup answered. Merida easily got the sense that certain parts of the story were being left out.

"What got you into a near death experience?"

"Uh…" Hiccup fumbled, trying to figure out where to begin. And then, suddenly, a small bestial cry was heard outside the window.

Merida's eyes got big. "What was that?" She turned to the window.

His eyes huge, too, Hiccup muttered, "Toothless…"

"What?" Merida asked him.

"Nothing." Hiccup quickly responded. Merida was not put at ease by his answer.

"That couldn't have been a bear… or, or… what was that?" She began to move toward the window.

"H-Hold on a second, Merida, uh…" He attempted to stop her, grabbing her wrist.

"We might be in trouble, Hiccup." She said in return, pulling her wrist away and peering out the window.

"But-" Hiccup began, before being hushed by Hiccup.

"Quiet." She whispered and peered out the window, keeping her ears keen. No sound was heard again. Merida withdrew from the window.

"Huh… Let's be off, I guess…" She gave the window one last look before going off. Hiccup followed, sighing in relief.

As they made their way to the dining hall, Hiccup spoke up, "You didn't seem all that happy about me coming to dinner."

Merida looked to him apologetically, "I'm sorry I made it seem that way. I'm just not certain you be able to deal with…" They came upon the entrance to the dining hall. Inside were the queen- as well as the burly king and pint-sized princes. "This." She gestured to her family, particularly the men.

"Your family?" He questioned.

"They can be just a wee bit rowdy." Merida explained. The king heard her voice and turned in his chair a bit.

"Merida!" His voice boomed jovially. Then he noticed Hiccup behind her. "Who's that?"

"Fergus, this is our guest, Hiccup." Elinor spoke, calmly.

"Hiccup? Pffft!" He burst into uncontrollable laughter. "That's a great name, that is!" He joked.

"Yeah, I know." Hiccup said, crossing into the room.

"Fergus." Elinor uttered in a warning tone. She gave him a look and he knew to settle down.

"Sorry… Hiccup. It's nice to meet you." He apologized, holding back a chuckle. The boy forgave him, but then nearly tripped over three wooden swords lying haphazardly on the ground. He glanced up to see the three princes smiling innocently at him.

"Boys, when I told you not to keep your weapons on the table, that didn't mean place them on the floor instead." She chastised. The three picked up the swords and placed them at the back of their seats. Hiccup more tentatively made his way to an empty chair and examined the seat first before sitting down. Merida sat beside him. And supper began.

Hiccup prodded the food in front of him, before cutting into eat and taking a bite. "Hm…" He "Psst." She turned her attention to the boy. He pointed at the food questioningly.

"That's haggis." She told him. He kept chewing, eyeing her blankly. "Sheep's stomach."

"Mm." He swallowed and responded, "Interesting."

"So, Hiccup. What about you? Tell us about yourself." Fergus said.

"Um… well… I, uh, go to high school with Merida…" He started.

"Go on." The king pushed for him to continue, motioning with the turkey leg in his hand.

"I'm from Berk, which is a quaint village once you get past the freezing temperatures and rough Viking hospitality." He went on. Fergus, who'd been chewing on the turkey leg, stopped cold and then he started to choke. Hiccup and Merida stared wide-eyed at the man. He began forcing the food out of his system, pounding his belly until Elinor had to come up and help him. Finally, the meat came spewing out and landed across the room, hitting the wall. Fergus took a few breaths before looking at Hiccup, as did Elinor. "Viking?!"

"Yeah?" He answered unsurely.

"Merida, you brought home a Viking?" He then faced Merida.

"Yes?" Merida replied, with the same uncertainty as Hiccup. The princes stared at her as well.

"Our ancestors were fierce enemies of the Vikings, or don't you remember?" The king's voice grew rather intimidating. Hiccup began to look uncomfortable and Merida scoffed.

"Dad, that was centuries ago."

Hiccup dared to speak up, "B-besides, our teacher sort of put all of the partners together, so…"

Fergus did not say anything for a moment and Merida added, "You shouldn't be keeping grudges like that."

After a bit of silence, Elinor spoke, "I think Merida is right." He looked to Elinor in minor shock. Then he gazed at Hiccup for a moment.

"He's harmless, I swear, Dad. Look. Not a bit of meat on these bones." Merida grabbed his arm and held it up, pointing at it with her other hand.

"Hey." Hiccup said in defense, taking his arm back.

The king chortled lightly and the teens turned to look at him. He quickly cleared his throat. And then he just nodded. The tension in the room started to fade and Elinor went back to her seat.

"I think it's an interesting occurrence the two were put into a pair. Perhaps, it may settle any lasting disputes between our people."

"What's that supposed to mean, mom?" She inquired. The queen only gave her daughter a knowing glance before returning to her meal.

Hiccup and Merida looked at each other and then quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed.

After dinner, Hiccup and Merida headed upstairs for him to gather his things. "Oh, mom…" She groaned as she brought the doors closed behind her.

"I dunno… She doesn't seem _so_ bad…" Hiccup spoke, shrugging, as he picked up the animation book.

Hiccup looked to her, sliding his notebook and pencil into his pocket. Merida met his gaze and sighed, "She's not a total pain, I guess." She admitted. "Not like she used to be… back then, it seemed like we could never come to an understanding…"

"Sounds like how things were for me and my dad a while back…" Hiccup said, his voice a bit low, his stare falling upon the journal now hidden in his pocket.

Merida raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, Hiccup?"

He hesitantly looked back up at her, "We didn't really get along. I mean, there he was, the, big, brawny village chief… and then there I was, his scrawny little son who's supposed to miraculously live up to his expectations." Merida eyed him, becoming keen with interest. "And he just… he just never listened to me… he didn't get me, and, and it's like he never took the time to try to, you know?"

Merida's voice grew quiet, too, "Yeah, I do. That was my mother." There was a moment of silence and then she said, "It was as if… he just didn't care… wasn't it?"

Hiccup nodded, "Exactly." Merida frowned.

"I know how you felt, then." She spoke with sincerity, smiling sadly. He returned the gesture, but then cleared his throat.

"…Things have been better since then… I mean, I think he finally accepts me for who I am…"

"It's the same with me… but sometimes, mom can still be… um… like she was downstairs." Merida's voice became a little louder as the solemnity of the conservation began to pass.

"Yeah…" He chuckled nervously. He looked at her and she returned his gaze, a small smile on her face. He gulped and said, "Well, I should be leaving now… Berk is a long way from here…"

"Oh. Ok." Merida nodded, tucking a curl behind her ear. Hiccup walked to the door and pulled it open (albeit with a little force than the average man).

"I'll see you tomorrow." He called over his shoulder, a grin on his face.

"Bye." She smiled again. And then the door closed and he was gone. The princess stood still for a couple moments, and then her eyebrows furrowed in thought. And then she was off, pulling the door open and running down the stairs. "Wait! Hiccup! I had some questions that you didn't answer." She stopped looking around. Merida heard a noise presumably from outside and followed it. She bounded out the side door and onto the grass, panting. The coldness of the autumn evening immediately caught her attention, and she pulled on her tan hoodie tighter. She glanced in the darkness when an even darker silhouette showed up and the figure of a teenaged boy. Merida squinted and walked closer. A cry was heard again, just like the one earlier and she gasped.

The boy, Hiccup, did, too and faced Merida. The silhouette did as well and its two, huge green eyes stood out in the night. Her mouth was completely agape, now. She stopped walking and gazed at the creature before her.

"So that's it! That's how you'd drawn the picture and… and the sound from before… because you've got yourself a, a pet dragon!" She exclaimed. Hiccup winced and the reptile eyed her cautiously, his pupils dilated.

"It's okay, bud, she's a friend." He whispered. The dragon looked at Hiccup before relaxing and facing Merida again. The princess stared at the dragon in awe,

"How did you… When did you… Where… Hiccup?" She peeked back up to the Viking teen.

"Merida, this is Toothless. Toothless, Merida."

"Toothless?" Merida spoke, looking at his mouth. "Hm…" Then she scowled. "Care to explain a bit more, Hiccup?"

Hiccup bit his lip, but then nodded, "Back in Berk… quite a while ago, dragons used to be the big pest around the village. You know, stealing our food and burning our houses down. So, what we had to do was start fighting them. And me, well, you said it yourself. Not any meat on these bones…"

"So that's why you weren't what you're father expected?" Merida asked.

"Yeah. During one of the night raids, I was trying to show everyone that I _am _useful… and managed to take Toothless, here, down. But when I found him I… I wouldn't kill him."

"And that's what formed the bond…" Merida finished for him. He agreed.

"… What do you think?" Hiccup asked after a moment. Merida let her gaze fall on Toothless, who grew more relaxed in her presence. Tentatively, she reached out and the dragon moved back slightly, but then settled down again. Softly, she touched his flesh, just between his nostrils. She exhaled, lightly and Toothless' irises got bigger, his stare less intimidating. A big smile crossed her lips and she looked to Hiccup, "Wow." She uttered. Hiccup grinned back and she slowly withdrew from Toothless, their eyes still locked onto one another. Merida softened, then frowned again and turned to punch Hiccup in the shoulder.

"Hey! Ow! What, What'd you do that for?" He rubbed his now sore shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me before, Hiccup?" She demanded.

"Well… well, because… I don't know… I wasn't sure how you'd react…" Hiccup tried to clarify.

Merida just shook her head, "Is this some kind of big secret of yours?"

"Not completely. I mean, everyone in Berk knows, Jack knows…"

"Jack? Jack Frost? That white-haired lad with the wooden stick?" Merida asked, sure she'd seen the two navigate the high schools hallways together.

Hiccup nodded, "Yup. He's my best friend, right next to Toothless, that is." He glanced up at Toothless and so did Merida.

"You don't tell anyone else at school about your dragon?"

"No…" Hiccup sighed. "It was hard enough for me to be accepted in my village… then, my dad thinks it's a great idea for me to go to high school. Now I've got a whole new crowd of people to figure out my way through…"

"Huh…" Merida spoke with her eyes downcast. She looked up again to see Toothless nudging Hiccup playfully with his head. Hiccup smiled and rubbed his forehead. And suddenly, gone was the awkward teenager from school, beside Toothless he seemed at ease- as if he actually felt comfortable in his own skin for once. Merida thought to her days off when she could be herself in the forest, practicing her archery and galloping on her horse, Angus. "I think I understand what you mean, Hiccup." She spoke up.

"Yeah?" Hiccup began to mount himself onto Toothless' back. Merida nodded and then her eyes got big.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you… In Berk, we're dragon-riding Vikings." Hiccup said.

At first, she was baffled. Ride a dragon? The more she thought about it though, the more amazing the idea sounded; she walked closer, "Can I ride, too?" But her mother's voice rang out from inside the castle,

"Merida? Where are you? It's past your curfew."

The princess moaned out her detest, looking to the empty spot on Toothless' saddle with longing.

"Another time?" Hiccup looked.

"Looks to be that way…" Merida sighed, her gaze going back to the ground.

"Hey." Hiccup called out for Merida attention and she looked up again. "You'll fly with Toothless next time. Okay?"

"Fine." Merida gave him a half-smile and took a few steps back. Hiccup then leaned over slightly and asked to the dragon,

"Ready, Toothless?" Toothless was already getting in gear and when Hiccup shouted, "Let's go!" He was extending his wings and flapping them; slowly he and Hiccup were rising from the ground.

Merida laughed, completely amazed and watched them until the ebony dragon was indistinguishable in the night.

"Merida!" Elinor shouted.

"I'm coming, mum!" Merida turned on her heel and headed back inside.

* * *

**This one was a little harder to do, mostly because of Merida's Scottish accent which I didn't include, but tried to incorporate some words and phrases. I hope it turned out all right ^^**


	3. Introduction Pt1

**The first official chapter of The Big Four fanfic is here! This is the beginning of the story and basically for this chapter and the next, I'm trying to just show the big four meeting one another. Btw, The only ones that are friends right now are Hiccup and Jack.**

* * *

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III clumped through the high school hallways, holding three large textbooks within his grasp. With his skinny frame, he easily slipped through masses of crowds blocking his path and found his way to first period. Halfway there, he came upon a random patch of ice, though his books blocked it out of his sight. His metal leg came down on it and he immediately began to slip, "W-whoa!" He cried and fell on his back, dropping the textbooks. "Ugh…" He groaned and looked up to find a boy with snowy hair standing over him, grinning mischievously at him.

"Woops. Sorry about that." He apologized, leaning on the wooden staff in his grasp.

Hiccup sat up, rubbing his back, then looked down, scanning over the ice beneath. Then he stared back up, scowling in annoyance. "Just give me a hand, here, Jack." He uttered. Jack helped his friend up out of the ice and Hiccup gathered his books once more. The two entered the classroom and as they did, Hiccup inquired, "Can't you at least _try_ not to leave ice in the most inconvenient of places?"

Jack chuckled at the very idea of _not _leaving frost or ice in his wake, "No." Then a yelp was heard in the doorway and the entire class turned to find the professor sprawled on the ground. Laughter erupted within the room and Jack turned back to Hiccup. "What would be the fun in that?"

Hiccup just rolled his eyes and shook his head, while the professor sat up, red-faced, and shouted, "Jack!"

In the next classroom, everyone heard the commotion and some students stood from their chairs. The teacher chose to check outside to see what was going on and ordered the children to stay in. Despite this order, several kids came over and peeked out the door. One of the only students who stayed behind included a girl with _extremely _long blonde hair. She looked up curiously, but could not see over the heads of the others. The girl swerved over to face the student beside her, well-built with brown hair and a goatee, and asked, "What do you think is going on out there?"

"That Jack Frost guy causing trouble again, no doubt." He replied, casually stealing his neighbor's homework to copy.

"Hm?" She glanced back to the doorway. Through a gap between some students, the girl could see a lanky kid with white hair being pulled across the hall, past her classroom.

"I've had just about enough of your tricks, Mr. Frost!" The professor yelled angrily.

"Hey, it was an accident that time!" Jack cried in defense. The students waved goodbye to their fellow schoolmate as he was dragged away, presumably to the dean's office. Inside, the long-haired girl only raised her eyebrow in curiosity. Her attention was averted from the door, though, by the boy beside her.

"Uh, Rapunzel, can I see your math homework?" He held up the paper he'd obtained first, which consisted of mainly indecipherable answers and doodles. Rapunzel laughed lightly upon seeing it and then exhaled, bringing out her homework.

"Sure." She passed it over and then gazed back up at the door. Her own teacher was now outside, trying to calm down the furious professor from the class next door. A brown-haired boy accompanied her, trying to bail out his friend. Gradually, the fuss going on outside began to subside and students began to return to their seats. The brunette boy went back to his class alone and Rapunzel's teacher came back into the classroom.

"Settle down, class." She spoke, loudly and noise started to die down. The boy beside Rapunzel handed her homework back and she stuffed it back into her binder.

"Thanks." He whispered and she nodded, replying with,

"Welcome, Flynn." Beside him, a short boy with a shock of blond hair sticking up sat down. He pulled his paper forward and in realization that he hadn't written his name, and grabbed his pencil. In the blank space at the top, he scribbled down Wee Dingwall.

In the dean's office, Jack sat uncomfortably in the wooden chair, avoiding his teacher's fierce glare. The dean drummed his fingers on the desk while working on some paperwork. After a while, it seemed he was ignoring the people in his presence. Finally, the professor cleared his throat rather loudly and the dean looked up. He sighed in exasperation and set his pen down. "Professor, this is the _sixth _time you've brought Jack to my office this month."

"Aren't you going to listen to what he did?" The professor demanded.

"You can't be taking him here every time there's an issue." The dean continued.

"Well, what else am I to do?! He's a constant disruption to the class, never takes my assignments seriously and repeatedly makes a complete fool out of me!" Jack just rolled his eyes, annoyed, as his teacher ranted on about him.

"Deal with him yourself. Jack may not be a model student, but he's perfectly harmless. Now if you can't handle _him_, then who's to say you're not even fit to teach at this school?"

The professor's eyes widened and his cheeks colored. Jack looked up to him slightly, his lips curling into a smirk. His teacher gulped, "Well, uh… you are? You're to say… dean." He responded.

The dean rubbed the bald spot atop his head and announced gruffly, "You're dismissed." The professor turned, his face still burning and made his way to the exit. Jack stood from the chair and stretched his limbs, grabbing his staff. He was making his way to the door, which had just closed behind his teacher, but the school's commander halted him.

"Wait, actually, hold on, Jack. You're not dismissed just yet." Jack stopped, facing the dean again. "I _do _expect better conduct from you, young man. Even slightly. I don't want to see you and your teacher in my office any time soon. Alright?"

"Yes, sir." Jack agreed and made a salute to his dean before pushing past the door. He shook his head, grinning and swung his staff onto his shoulder, heading for the entrance to the front/attendance office. As he made to open the door, it opened first and a red-haired girl stumbled in.

"Excuse me." She ordered and pushed past him; despite the polite statement, her tone did not correlate with it.

"Whoa, Hey." Jack backed up and craned his neck off to the side as red curls flew into his face. She didn't look back and quickly made her way to the lady at the desk.

"Sorry I'm late." She huffed, waiting for her tardy slip. Jack eyed her curiously for a moment, but then left the office and headed back for class.

At lunch, Hiccup and Jack took their usual seats next to one another. Hiccup bit into his fish sandwich and chewed on it with a bit of force before swallowing. "I'm serious, Jack. This is the last time I try to bail you out."

"I know. I told the dean I'd start behaving better." Jack answered before gulping down his chocolate milk.

Hiccup stared at him in disbelief, "And he actually bought that?" Jack bobbed his head, grinning. Then he furrowed his brows,

"But, hey, I think I'm gonna try to keep my word this time."

"If you say so." Hiccup responded, shrugging. He looked down to his plate, swirling his spoon in his pudding cup, and then glanced up again. And then his attention was caught by something. Jack noticed and turned slightly in his seat, scanning the cafeteria. It was the red-haired girl from earlier.

"… You know her, Hiccup?" He turned back to his friend.

"Um… not really. All I know about her is her name: Merida. She's in some of my classes." Hiccup answered.

"I ran into her at the office this morning. Not the friendliest encounter, that's for sure."

"Well, you can't base anything off of only one encounter." Hiccup said and Jack raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think I'd kinda like to get to know her better…" He added.

"Oh, I see where this is going. Why don't you get up and go talk to her?" Jack gestured toward Merida at her lunch table.

"What? Just… just get up and, and… but I barely know her…" Hiccup fumbled over his words.

"So introduce yourself." Jack replied, simply. Hiccup gulped nervously. "Come on. You've made friends with a _dragon_, for crying out loud. What's the problem?"

"Well, I mean, but she's a _girl_." Hiccup answered. The winter spirit nodded.

"Uh-huh." He uttered. Hiccup groaned.

"Fine. Ok. I'll go. Look. I'm going." He stood from his seat and began to make his way toward Merida's table.

"Good." Jack laughed in relief and watched his friend off. He saw Hiccup take a deep breath before calling for the girl's attention. Jack couldn't hear anything, but could assume that he was trying to start up conversation. He saw Merida start to laugh and Hiccup to rub the back of his head nervously, his face visibly falling. Jack winced and turned back to his food finishing up his milk. Not long after Hiccup came back and plopped into his chair, he held a textbook in his arms.

Though he had a good idea of what happened, Jack still asked, "So, how'd it go?"

"She laughed at me." Hiccup responded, placing the book beside his lunch tray. "Right after I introduced myself."

Jack bobbed his head, remembering what he saw.

"Well, she apologized, though. And then the whole 'hey, I have a class with you, right?' conversation came up for a little bit. And she actually seemed pretty nice after that."

"Aw, see, that wasn't so bad, was it? But, uh… what's with the textbook?"

"Oh. Then she asked me why I came over, and I sort of… just said I wanted to ask if I could borrow her book."

"So you didn't say it was because you were interested in her?" Jack asked.

"Uh, no, that didn't really… ever come up." Hiccup scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Jack exhaled in exasperation.

"And _that_ is why you still don't have a girlfriend, Hiccup."

"Well, I don't see you with one, either, Jack." Hiccup retorted, causing his friend to scowl, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

At her table, Merida stood and gathered her things. "I need to visit the library." She explained to her only lunch mates, Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin and Wee Dingwall. The waved and MacGuffin offered,

"OkayseeyoulaterMerida."

Merida nodded, smiling, pretending that she understand what he said. And then she departed the cafeteria. She didn't notice the two boys on the other side of the lunchroom, who appeared to be the only ones who realized she'd left her book.

Inside of the library, Merida scanned the shelves for a book that would assist her in Professor Ritchi's assignment on the news media. She pulled out a volume and scanned through it, falling into a nearby seat. As she skimmed through paragraphs, something bumped into her chair and she looked away from her book. A library ladder was beside her and trailing all the way down it was golden, blonde hair. It trailed all the way past the nearest bookshelf. Merida glanced up higher to find a girl clutching to the ladder desperately. She looked down at Merida and sheepishly apologized, "Sorry."

"Uh… you need any help, there?" Merida called.

"No, no. I'm fine." She declined any aid and plucked out a book that appeared to be about art off the shelf. "Thanks for asking, though."

Merida's attention was brought away from her when the boy from before appeared from around the corner. He was holding a textbook in his grasp. "Hey, um, you forgot to ask for your book back." He held it out and her eyes widened.

"Oh! That's right. I forgot I lent it to you. Did it help any with your work, Hiccup?" She took it and began stuffing it into her backpack. Above her, she heard a stifled giggle and immediately knew why.

On the library ladder, Rapunzel watched the events unfold. She realized that she recognized the boy. _I saw him earlier, that's Jack Frost's friend. His name's Hiccup? _Rapunzel leaned down a bit more, trying to get a better look.

"Oh yeah. Yeah, definitely. It helped a lot." Hiccup bobbed his head in a rather exaggerated manner.

"That's good. Well, I'll see you in class tomorrow, then." Merida said.

"Uh-huh. I'll be here. Well, in class, not in the library." Hiccup responded and then twisted on his heel. Rapunzel leaned down ever more and then began to wobble.

"W-Whoa!" She cried, her palms getting sweaty as she took in the gravity of how high she was. Hiccup, who was busy reprimanding himself over his behavior around Merida, turned and stared up at Rapunzel.

"Need some help?" He asked, and then his eyes followed her hair until it was sight. She shook her head. "I'm good." She carefully held up her book and began to climb down the ladder. Rapunzel giggled nervously and smiled at the two before turning around and walking off. Hiccup and Merida took another look at her hair as it was dragged behind her.

"That's quite a bit of hair she's got." Merida commented. Hiccup agreed. The end of lunch bell rang and Merida slung her backpack over her shoulder, standing from the chair.

The brown-haired boy said, "See ya." Merida waved, watching him go.

"Huh." She muttered to herself, then went off to check out the book she'd decided to borrow.

* * *

**Ok, so the only people who didn't really interact with each other were Jack and Rapunzel, but that will happen in the next chapter- in fact, the entire next chapter focuses on them, so keep a look out for the next update :D**

**Also, I have no idea why but when I thought of this idea, I really didn't think of where Astrid would come in. I guess, because Jack and Rapunzel are gonna have problems because of Flynn- so I didn't want to replicate the same problem with Hiccup and Merida. But I'll start figuring that out. ^^'**


	4. Introduction Pt2

Well, here it is! This chapter is definitely for the Jackunzel shippers out there :DDD

* * *

Some days later, Jack was heading to his locker to gather his things for the final period of the day. As he was putting in his combination, Hiccup came up, his locker being beside Jack's.

"Did you hear about the animation project coming up, yet?" He asked.

"No…" Jack turned to face is friend after opening his locker.

"Well, I'm gonna go ahead and tell you. The professor is_ picking _our partners."

Jack groaned. His usual project partner, Hiccup, was probably out of the question. He, himself, didn't seem disappointed, though.

"You don't seem all that upset about it, though." Jack said. "How come?"

"Well…" Hiccup looked away for a moment, rubbing his shoulder.

"Is it because you're hoping for Merida as your partner?" He caught on quickly.

"No… And I told you I'm just looking to be friends right now." Hiccup corrected.

"Yeah, okay…" Jack grabbed his staff, which was leaning on the locker nearby. _All I know is that when _I _meet a girl I like, I'm actually gonna make a move on her… _He thought. The bell rang and Jack had yet to gather his books. "I'll catch up with you later." He said and Hiccup nodded, heading off to his class. The halls began to clear out and soon he was one of the last people around. He finally turned around and was about to close his locker when he caught sight of something on the ground in front of him. A long, lock of blonde hair in the middle of the hallway. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked down the hall, but the hair still disappeared into the next hallway. He set his things back into the locker and bent down to examine the hair. It was a golden shade and as he touched it, realized that it was soft, like silk. Frost began to form on it and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Uh… Why is there _hair_ in the hallway?" He looked back up and stood to his feet, walking over to the entryway of the next hall. He peered in to find that it flowed all the way down there as well. Jack was now completely perplexed and very curious. He began to make his down the hall, following the trail of hair. It still went on and even though the final bell rang, he still continued wandering down the halls.

"How long is this?" He spoke to himself quietly. It was at that moment that he turned another corner and saw the hair disappear into a classroom, wedged between the closed door and wall. Jack walked forward, stretching his neck slightly and squinting his eyes. From what he could see in the door's window, it appeared to be dark in the room. He stopped right in front of the door and peered in just barely. The classroom was filled with kids; they were watching a movie. Still inquisitive, Jack squatted down and then carefully raised his head so he could get a better look inside. It wasn't hard to find the source of the hair trail. Sitting in the front row, a girl sat, completely immersed in the film. The light of the screen played out her features faintly in the dark; Jack was staring before he even realized.

Her content expression was distorted into a frown as she glanced down for a moment. She stood from her seat and walked up to the professor's desk. A bit of panic overcoming him, he ducked down and moved away from the door. "Professor, may I use the restroom?" He heard her ask.

"Quickly, dear." The teacher responded and soon Jack heard the twisting of the doorknob as the door itself opened. The girl walked out, closing the door behind. Jack bit his lip, slowly standing to his full height. She stopped cold and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering a bit.

"Why is it so chilly in here all of a sudden?" She muttered, looking around. Then her eyes landed on Jack and she gasped.

In the light streaming in from the windows and their nearer proximity, Jack got a better look at her. She was very pretty; her golden hair seemed to literally reflect the rays of the sun and her big eyes were a sparkling green. Jack felt his hands getting clammy and his throat growing dry. She was saying something to him, but he didn't follow.

His voice came out hoarse, "I'm, I'm sorry, what?" His eyebrows crinkled together as he spoke.

"What are you doing out here?" She repeated.

"Oh… uh… uh… I got lost." He said. Technically, that was true. Jack had no idea where her hair had led him.

"Lost? Where are you trying to get to?" She inquired.

"Bathroom." The word slipped out. _Bathroom?! Why would I say that? _ He mentally kicked himself for doing the exact same thing he'd gotten onto Hiccup for.

"Oh, well, that's where I'm going. Just follow me, then." She gestured in the direction she was headed. He walked up and followed.

"Hey, I've seen you before. You're Jack, right? Jack Frost?"

Elated upon hearing her speak his name, his face lit up, "Yeah, that's me." He nodded. Then realization hit him, "And you are?"

"Rapunzel." She answered. Jack raised an eyebrow and she explained, "It's German."

"Ah." He bobbed his head slightly. Still, the name was strange to him.

"So… have you been wandering for a while?" Rapunzel asked.

"Since the bell, so…" He ventured.

"Yeah, you have." Rapunzel's eyes widened. There was a moment of silence, and then Jack glanced back at the hair trailed behind them.

"Question, ah, why is your hair so long?" He leaned back, gazing back at the locks for as far as he could see.

"I'm, uh… growing it out." Rapunzel answered, though she seemed to stiffen a little.

Jack chuckled, "I can see that… but, why?" He'd never seen anything so crazy since he'd taken a glance at his friend Jamie's Guinness World Record book.

"Well…" Rapunzel settled for a simple shrug, hoping to pacify Jack's curiosity.

"What's that?" She pointed to the wooden staff, deciding to turn the conversation toward him.

"My staff. I channel my powers through this so I can do something like _this_." He tapped the glass of a nearby window and ice began to crystalize on the surface. Rapunzel's eyes got big with awe and she walked closer to the window. She let her fingers trace over the intricate design of the ice, then turned to Jack,

"That is _so_ cool!" She squealed like a giddy child. Jack grinned and swung his staff back onto his shoulder. Then Rapunzel realized how bubbly she sounded and calmed down a bit, keeping a nonchalant expression on her face.

"So, Jack. What else can you do?" She asked.

"Well, you ever had a snow day before?" He asked.

"Yeah… wait; it's you who does all that?" Rapunzel asked in return. _Not that I've ever even taken part in that… _She thought to herself.

"The blizzards, snowflakes, icicles, the nipping at your nose, that's all me," He answered.

"Wow…" Then she cocked an eyebrow, "That's why you got in trouble the other day, huh? Because of your powers?"

"Oh, you saw that?" He turned, and she nodded.

"I think that professor blows stuff way out of proportions, though." Rapunzel added.

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one who thinks that." Jack replied as he brought his staff down from his shoulder, letting it hang by his side. He pushed through a doorway that led onto an outdoors path and Rapunzel followed. The door closed on her hair (the hair that was closer to her head), pulling her back. She let out a surprised gasp and began to tug at it. Jack walked back to where she was and jumped on the ledge of the pathway, making his way around her to the door.

"What are you doing? We're up five stories high. You could fall." Rapunzel spoke, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Oh, that's not a problem, see I-Whoa!" He was interrupted by a huge gust of wind that blew him off the ledge.

"Jack!" She shouted, but instead of falling to the earth, he was blown off a couple feet into the air. He just hovered there, glancing to the ground before looking back to Rapunzel; he snickered as he took in her dumbstruck expression. The wind carried him back to the ledge and he dropped down to the stone surface.

"You can fly?!" Rapunzel exclaimed in amazement, dropping her hair.

"Yep. Well, the wind carries me, but…" He trailed off, realizing that Rapunzel was staring at him, lips beginning to form into a smile; her eyes grew big again, filled with wonder. He started to smile, too, but then cleared his throat. "So, uh, your hair…"

"Oh, right…" Rapunzel combed a wave of hair out of her face absentmindedly, looking to the door. Jack hopped off of the ledge and pulled open the door again. She started up the long task of pulling in her hair.

"How long is your hair, anyway?" Jack asked, looked to her.

"Uh… I'd say 70 ft., maybe?" She responded as she hauled in the last of her hair. Rapunzel puffed out a breath of relief, her long locks piled in her arms. Jack exhaled in disbelief, eyes widening. Rapunzel smiled sheepishly and then turned, walking the rest of the way to the entrance back indoors.

"Need any help?" Jack asked, following behind her. She glanced at her hair and then nodded, handing over a good bit of her hair. Jack heaved it up with a bit of a struggle at first.

"Sorry." Rapunzel quickly apologized.

"It's okay." He responded and helped her carry her hair to the next door and entered.

Once inside, the two dropped her hair back to the ground and continued on. The restrooms appeared just around the corner. "Here we are." Rapunzel said.

"Uh-huh. Thanks, by the way, for showing me how to get here." Jack responded.

"You're welcome." Rapunzel nodded as they stood before the two bathroom entryways. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Jack Frost." She smiled.

"Nice meeting you, too." Jack grinned, holding out his hand for her to shake. Rapunzel took his hand and shook it, but upon touching Jack's hand, coldness ran through her own.

"Oh!" She said in surprise, and then giggled, her smile still present. She then withdrew and waved, disappearing into the girls' restroom (save for her hair). Jack however, walked on, past the boy's bathroom, off to his final period of the day.

As he entered his classroom, his teacher reprimanded him for being so tardy, yet Jack hardly heard what the professor said. _Rapunzel, huh? _ He thought, navigating his way over to his seat.

* * *

I hope it wasn't too short ^^'

But seriously I've got so many ideas for Jackunzel, it's not even funny, so don't worry XD

Also, since this is a 4-way crossover thing, there's so much I can do with this story. Like having the group go to Berk, Corona, DunBroch, Burgess and so on. What do you guys think?


	5. Plans

Here's another chapter, you guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I get so excited when I see those alerts in my e-mail XD

By the way, I changed the project to be due in Spring so that it'll stretch out to the end of the story.

* * *

The next morning, Hiccup entered the particular class he shared with Merida. He took his seat and pulled a journal out from his backpack. Hiccup flipped to a blank page and brought out his pencil. He thought back to earlier that morning, before he'd dismounted his dragon, Toothless, and entered the school. His reptilian friend had given him a big smile, one being the source of his name, and Hiccup smiled at the memory. He began to sketch down Toothless' image, when Merida entered the room. He gazed up at her, but quickly stared back down at his notebook as she sat down in front of him.

The final bell rang and the last students entered the room. The professor clapped her hands together. "Okay, everyone. Today, I will be assigning partners for your animation project." The entire class let out a collective groan. The professor scowled and snapped at her students, "Hush, now. This is an important project. One I'm giving you till spring to complete- and on your own time. Having you each work with a student who you may not be familiar with… well, seeing the two of you cooperate for the next few months is part of the learning process in this assignment." The class glanced at one another, before returning their attention to the teacher. She cleared her throat and began calling out pairs. Some students were content with their partner, and sighed with relief, while others groaned quietly to themselves.

At some point, Hiccup heard his name announced, and peeked up from his notebook. The name that came after his caused him to gasp a little. The red-haired girl in front of him turned in her seat to face him. Hiccup waved, "Hey, partner." Merida waved back, but the teacher called on her to face forward. Merida quickly did, but she chuckled lightly to herself. The professor soon came to the end of her roster with one student unpaired.

Rapunzel shifted in her seat at the back of the room, gazing at her class and feeling singled out. "Rapunzel?" The professor spoke.

"Yes?" She answered. The teacher scanned some papers, checking the rosters from her previous classes.

"Ah. Here we go. I've got another student yet to be paired in second period. Rapunzel, you'll be working with Jack Frost."

The blonde's already large eyes got bigger. The memory of the boy she'd met the previous day pricked at her mind and a smile pulled slightly at the corners of her mouth. "Ok." She said. Between some kids' heads, Rapunzel saw Hiccup and Merida glance back at her; she swallowed and gazed down for a moment, fumbling with her hair a bit. When she looked back up, they were facing forward again. Flynn, sitting beside her, patted her shoulder.

"Good luck with Frost." He murmured. Rapunzel looked to him with a smile.

"I think I'll be fine, but thanks." She responded. Then the class lesson began as the professor wrapped up the presentation on animation she'd begun the previous day.

After that class was lunch and Hiccup met up with Jack at their table. They bought their lunch and set to eating pretty quickly. A couple minutes into the period, Jack spoke up, "Hiccup?"

"Yeah?" Hiccup replied, before sipping a spoonful of soup.

"Do you know a girl called Rapunzel?"

"Um… yeah. Everyone knows her. Can't miss her with all that hair she's got." Hiccup responded.

"Well, apparently I can. I just met her yesterday." Jack raised his eyebrows for effect as he sat back in his chair. Hiccup stared at him with a bit of smirk and Jack furrowed his brows now. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You like her, Jack?" Hiccup asked. Jack's eyes widened slightly and he leaned forward in his seat, folding his arms on the table.

"Uh, yeah… yeah, she's nice and… pretty…" Jack tried to sound nonchalant, but his cheeks were growing warm. He didn't even know his cheeks could do that.

"Huh. Well, I think I should probably go ahead and tell you that, unfortunately, Rapunzel's got a boyfriend." Hiccup explained.

"What?" Jack's face fell.

"Uh-huh. That guy right over there. His name's Flynn Rider." Hiccup pointed across the cafeteria. Jack turned in his seat to look and took in the sight of a hunky boy dressed in the school jacket.

Jack scowled, "Him?"

"I know, right? Of course she's with the school's big shot." Hiccup commented as he spooned up more soup. Jack turned back around in his seat, frustration apparent on his face.

"So much for 'make a move on the girl I like when I meet her'…" He grumbled to himself. He grabbed his spoon and began prodding at the meat inside his bowl of soup. He gazed at his reflection in the yellow broth when another reflection appeared beside him. He dropped his spoon into the bowl and looked up. Hiccup was looking behind Jack and the winter spirit whirled around to find Rapunzel there.

"Hello, again." She greeted, twiddling her fingers.

"Hi." Jack answered, a surprised smile appearing on his face.

"Um, Jack? You know that animation project in Professor Hobson's class?" Jack nodded. "Well, there are an odd number of kids in my class, so I got paired up with someone from another one. And it just so happens to be you," Rapunzel held out her hands, gesturing to him. Jack blinked twice at her, letting her information sink in. Slowly, a grin formed on his face and he answered,

"Ok."

Rapunzel smiled in return, then placed a hand on the chair next to Jack, "Can I sit here?" He nodded vigorously and pulled out the chair for her. Rapunzel sat down and then acknowledged Hiccup, "Hi."

"Hey." Hiccup responded, remembering his encounter with her some days prior.

Rapunzel smiled again and then faced Jack, "So what are we planning for the project?"

"Uh…" Jack scratched his head, unsure of how to answer. When Rapunzel saw this, she sighed lightly.

"Enjoy having Jack for a partner, Rapunzel." Hiccup said causing Jack to scowl at him. Rapunzel laughed lightly.

"Look, we don't need to make any big plans right now. For starters… where are we gonna work?" She spoke.

Jack thought for a moment. He didn't exactly have a permanent place of his own for them to work at, and the library- well, Jack didn't care too much for libraries- so that was out of the question. He finally said, "How about your place?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened. She nervously tucked a lock of blond hair behind her ear and avoided meeting both of the boys' gazes. "U-Um… I don't know if that's a good idea…"

Before Jack could question about this, Hiccup beat him to it, "Why?" Rapunzel looked up, biting her lip. "Well… my house is really far from here."

Jack shrugged his shoulders, "That's no problem. I can fly, remember?" He answered with a reassuring grin. Rapunzel finally met his gaze, her eyes big with worry.

"What's wrong?" He asked, starting to frown.

"I just… you see, it's my mother. She's _really_ strict about visitors." She answered.

"Hey, it's fine. I don't think she'll be able to see me, anyway." Jack's eyes became downcast.

Rapunzel lifted an eyebrow, puzzled. "Won't be able to see you? Why?"

"I'm only seen by the people who believe in me." Jack explained simply. Rapunzel's face grew somber for a moment, but then her eyes lit up. Her mother wasn't much of a believer in anything. She wouldn't even believe that her own daughter could handle herself in the world.

"Jack, I think you're right…" She said slowly and then said, "Can I borrow a piece of paper?" She asked. The winter spirit began fumbling with his belongings and after about a minute, it was Hiccup who slid paper over to Rapunzel.

"Thanks." She mouthed and when Jack dropped his schoolbag to the ground in defeat, then saw the paper before her, she explained, "Hiccup took care of it." Jack sighed; shaking his head, but still didn't look all that upset.

"Leave  
it to you, Hiccup." He said and Hiccup just chuckled. Meanwhile, Rapunzel was scrawling words on the paper with a pencil supplied from her hoodie pocket. She slid the paper to Jack and said,

"This is where I live. Let's get to work, mmm, tomorrow?" She asked.

"Sure." Jack nodded, smiling. He folded the paper up and slipped it into the pocket of his own blue hoodie. The lunch bell rang and soon a new figure appeared at the table. Flynn.

"Hey, Punzie, you ready to go?" He asked, clutching not only his belongings, but hers as well. Rapunzel turned to her boyfriend and nodded.

"M-hm. Oh, this is my boyfriend, Flynn." She introduced him to the two other boys.

Flynn looked over the two boys with a nod; Hiccup responded with a "Hi," and Jack with a "Hey" simultaneously but with very contrasting tones. Flynn glanced back at Rapunzel as she stood from her chair. Rapunzel waved at the two as she joined her boyfriend by his side. "Bye, Jack, Hiccup."

They waved back and began gathering their things to depart the cafeteria as well.

As Hiccup headed outside at the end of school to find Toothless, a certain red-haired girl appeared behind him. "Hey." She announced loudly and Hiccup jumped, slightly frightened.

He turned around to see Merida, stifling a giggle. "I didn't mean to give you a fright, Hiccup." Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

Hiccup exhaled, "Yeah, I'm sure you didn't." Merida just smirked, walking up until she was beside him.

"Sooo…" She began, inclining her head forward. "What are we going to do about that project?" She finished when Hiccup did not respond.

"Well, I was planning this huge presentation where-" He started, but Merida cut him off.

"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves, now. Let's start with the small stuff, first."

"Ok, well…" Hiccup decided to figure out where they would work. "We'll work at your house."

"Mine? What about yours?" She asked.

"Berk's not exactly the best work environment…" Hiccup rubbed his back nervously.

"That's where you live? What's Berk? I've never heard of it." She pronounced the name, a strange look on her face.

"It's an old Viking village. I wouldn't expect you to." Hiccup replied.

"Viking…" Merida muttered, her eyes widening. She eyed over the scrawny teenager, "You're a Viking, Hiccup?"

"Yeah…ish." Hiccup moved his hand in "so-so" manner, scrunching up his face.

"Ish?" Merida furrowed her brows.

"Ish." Hiccup confirmed, nodding.

"Oh…" Merida bobbed her head in understanding.

"I'm… more of a different kind. So is the rest of Berk." Hiccup continued.

"What kind?" The red-haired girl asked curiously. Hiccup was about to reply when he realized what he was about to say- and that Merida had nearly followed him to where Toothless was in the forest. Not wanting to reveal his reptilian friend to Merida just yet, he began to pick up his pace. Confused, Merida tried to catch up with him.

"Uh… you know… the unconventional kind…" Hiccup replied over his shoulder, skidding down a hill. Merida just gave him a confused look.

"Ok, well, I'll see you later, Merida." He said quickly and disappeared around boulder.

"Wait, Hiccup, wha-" Merida slid down the hill after him and peered around the boulder, but he was gone. "Hiccup?" She called. There was no answer. Merida exhaled and after a moment, turned back to ascend the hill. "Didn't even tell him where I live." She muttered in annoyance. Internally, she was wondering why Hiccup was suddenly acting as if he was in hurry- and how he'd managed to disappear so quickly.

She shook that though away and said out loud, "Guess I'll tell him in the morning. He's sure to realize sooner or later."

* * *

Ok, so expect two updates next time because the next chapter has some new bits in the beginning, but after that is the two preview chapters. So to make up for posting a chapter mainly filled with material you've already read, there'll be another new chapter to go along with it :D


	6. Meeting 1

**Author's Note: New Chapter! This is the first of two, because the two preview chapters are in here. There's some new bits, though, mostly at the beginning. **

* * *

The next morning, just as planned, Merida made an effort to tell Hiccup that he had no idea where she lived. In the halls, she spied the brown-haired boy by his locker. Beside him was another boy with white hair. The latter seemed strangely familiar. Merida rushed up, calling, "Hiccup!" He whirled around in surprise and the white-haired boy smirked at him and said something before turning to leave. Hiccup rolled his eyes at him and turned to face the fast-approaching girl, clearing his throat.

"Yes, Merida?"

"Yesterday, you ran off before I could tell you where I live. So that you know where to find me." She said.

"Oh… right." Hiccup's eyes got big and he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"What were you in such a rush for anyway, Hiccup?" She asked.

"Uh... That's a good question, um…" His eyes wandered about as he tried to think of an acceptable explanation. Merida cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I was late for something back home… Viking stuff." Hiccup answered.

"Okay…" Merida said hesitantly, for she sensed something was off.

"So, er, where do you live?"

"That's right… I live in Scotland, the kingdom of DunBroch. You can't miss the castle." She said.

"Castle? Wait, you live in a castle?" Hiccup questioned in incredulity.

"Of course. Didn't I tell you I'm a princess?" Merida frowned.

"Uh… no…" Hiccup responded, barely keeping his mouth from dropping wide open. _Princess?! _ He thought, breaking into a sweat.

"Huh… Well, you know now, don't you?" Merida shrugged.

"U-uh-huh…" Hiccup managed to utter. The bell for first period rang and Merida's eyes widened for a moment.

"Oh! I guess I'll see you later, Hiccup." She waved and then walked off. Hiccup merely nodded. He turned, making his way to his class. He ran a hand across his face, letting out a huge breath. "A princess… She's a princess!" Hiccup muttered to himself in disbelief.

Later on, Jack was on his way to lunch and encountered Rapunzel in the halls. She stood beside Flynn at his locker when the sight of Jack caught her eye. "Hey, just a second." She put up one finger and then caught up to Jack. "Hi!" She smiled brightly and he stopped to turn and face her with an equally bright grin.

"Hey."

"Ok, I figured out a good time for you to come by. How's seven?" She asked. Jack had quite a few responsibilities after school: as a student, he had homework, as a winter spirit he spread the winter weather, and as a guardian, he protected the children of the world. The last two responsibilities being most important to him. But when Rapunzel looked at him with big hopeful eyes and a matching smile, he didn't hesitate to say,

"Sounds good to me."

"Great!" Her smile grew wider and then she put up a hand as farewell, "I'll see you tonight." Rapunzel returned to the tall brown-haired student by his locker. Jack groaned under his breath at the sight and twisted forward, on his way to the cafeteria.

Hiccup was gone for most of the lunch period, spending most of his time in the library searching for a book on animation. In his absence, Jack wandered outside, occupying himself with poking trees and bushes, laying out the first traces of winter.

The last hour of school passed and the students started to exit the school. Four particular students headed home, though, with a growing sense of anticipation.

Rapunzel finished readying the tower. She swept up the floors one final time (and the umpteenth time) and Pascal took care of the dust in the hard to reach places. It was the very first time she was expecting company after all; she had to make an impression. Finally, Rapunzel placed the broom against the wall, wiping sweat from her brow. She turned to Pascal, who was just emerging from a little corner. "Well, it's been an hour, Pascal… Does everything look ready?" Rapunzel questioned him.

Pascal nodded a look of certainty on his little face. Rapunzel smiled, anticipation overwhelming her. She glanced at the clock; its hands ticked closer to the 12. Seven o'clock. The time that had been chosen for his arrival. "He should be here any minute." Rapunzel exhaled and opened the window that looked out onto the calm evening. She breathed in the cool, night air and then let it out. Her eyes became downcast as she peered out at the earth far below. Pascal appeared beside her on the windowsill and nudged her. She smiled at him sadly before she realized what the little chameleon was doing. His eyes gestured to the sky and she followed his gaze. A speck appeared far off, just in line of eyesight, but grew bigger and more identifiable. It was boy, soaring through the air, and then plummeting down toward the tower. "There he is. Jack!" Rapunzel shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. She waved.

Within seconds he was at her window, feet perched on the sill. "Hey." He greeted, not at all out of breath from his speedy flight.

"Come in." She spoke, trying to take on the persona of a good hostess. Rapunzel took a few spaces back, giving him room to enter. He did and as soon as his feet touched the floor, the temperature of the room lowered several degrees. Pascal began to shiver and snuggled up to the girl, trying to share the warmth of her pink hoodie. She peeked up at him and Jack quickly realized.

"Sorry." He apologized sheepishly.

"It's, uh, it's fine." She said, and then cleared her throat, "So, this is my home." She held out her arms.

Jack looked about the main room. "It's, um, a little old-fashioned, don't you think?"

"Yeah… it's sort of been around for a long time…" Rapunzel answered. Jack nodded, and then noticed the abundance of paintings along the walls.

"That's pretty cool, though." With his finger, he traced in the air along the different pieces of art.

"Oh, that." Rapunzel giggled nervously. "Actually, I did all those."

Jack's eyes widened and he turned to the girl, "You paint? I didn't know you were into art."

Rapunzel bobbed her head, "Yeah. It's just… something I do to pass the time, I guess." Her gaze averted to the ground.

"You must have a lot of time on your hands, then…" Jack spoke, further inspecting the paintings.

Rapunzel nodded again, though more lightly this time. "Yeah, you could say that." She mumbled. After a couple of moments she announced, "We'll be working in my room upstairs." She turned and gestured toward the staircase. Jack furrowed his eyebrows, curious about her changing the subject, but dismissed it. He followed the girl up the steps, carefully walking around her flowing locks of golden hair. At the top, Rapunzel pushed past deep violet curtains into the next room. Jack quickly entered after. Inside was her bedroom, elegant and feminine as he expected. A large, purple canopy was on one side of the room and there was a vanity nearby. Some paintings similar to the ones downstairs were scattered here and there. "Over here." Rapunzel said and walked toward a bookshelf along the wall.

She plucked a rather thick volume off of the shelf and held it up for Jack to see. It read, The History of Animation. "This ought to take care of pretty much the whole project."

"And… you just happen to have that book lying around at your house?" He raised an eyebrow.

Rapunzel chuckled nervously, "No, actually Mother brought it to me."

"Your mom? Why didn't you just get it yourself?" Jack asked.

Upon hearing this, Rapunzel tensed up. Nonetheless, she answered, "Um… she says the library is pretty far from here and doesn't want me going all the way there…"

"Why? You're 18, right?" Jack further questioned.

"Well, yeah, but…. never mind." Rapunzel shook her head and exhaled, putting on a faint smile, "We should get started, don't you think?"

"Sure, but…" The winter spirit began, however Rapunzel made it quite clear that she'd dropped the subject and was expecting him to as well. "Yeah, let's, uh, let's do it." He offered a grin and she returned it with a satisfied smile, dropping onto her bed. Rapunzel laid down the book and patted at the spot beside her. He came forward and sat down putting down his staff, looking over the book. He opened it and began flipping through; at the very end, in the bottom left corner read the page number. "450 pages… yikes…" He groaned. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught a glimpse of something green dart from Rapunzel's shoulder into the pocket of her hoodie. Startled, he let out a "Whoa!" which in turn surprised Rapunzel.

"What?" She asked, her eyes growing big.

"Something just… just ran down your shirt and, and…" He found himself at a loss for words.

"Oh." Rapunzel laughed, relaxing. "That's only Pascal." She pulled the entrance of the pocket open wider, so that the little creature could be seen. He had his arms wrapped around himself for comfort, snuggled in the deepest crevice of the hoodie's fabric. Rapunzel attempted to coax him out, "Come on out, Pascal. It's okay." The animal stared at Rapunzel, next Jack and then shook his head fervently, going further into her pocket. Rapunzel exhaled, saying playfully, "Alright, have it your way, then." She let go of her hoodie, and Pascal disappeared out of sight.

"So, why exactly do you have a pet chameleon?" Jack questioned.

"Well, he's more of a friend than a pet." Rapunzel turned to face him. "Pascal keeps me company while Mother's away." She explained.

"You don't ever have friends from school over?" Jack asked. Rapunzel shook her head, a sheepish smile on her face. "Not even Flynn?" He tried to hide the venom that seeped from his lips as he spoke the name of Rapunzel's boyfriend. Once again, Rapunzel shook her head.

"You're actually the first person I've ever invited here, Jack." Rapunzel revealed. His eyes widened in disbelief at this discovery.

"Wow… why?" He asked, genuinely concerned. The blonde-haired girl bit her lip, avoiding Jack's gaze. Her fingers found a lock of her hair and began playing with it absent-mindedly.

Finally, she spoke and as she did, Pascal poked his head out of her pocket, surprised that she was about to confess, "The truth is-"

She was interrupted by a loud, shrill and sing-song voice, "Rapunzel! Let down your hair!" Rapunzel's eyes grew as wide as saucers as the girl stiffened where she sat.

And then in disbelief, she said, "Mother?!" Jack's eyes got a little big, too. "She's not supposed to be home for at least another hour!" Rapunzel began to panic. After another few moments, the voice yelled again. Rapunzel stood from her bed, stumbling for the curtains. She pulled them apart and shouted, "Coming, Mother!" She then turned to Jack. "Wait in here." And then she disappeared, her hair trailing behind her.

Jack stayed inside her room as told. He leafed through the pages of the book for a little while, scanning over pictures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Then, Jack heard voices and his attention left the book. He heard what sounded like Rapunzel's mother talking about her long tiring day and doting on her daughter. Curiosity got the best of him and he made his way to the curtains, peeking through them.

"Rapunzel, be a dear and sing to me, please?" A woman who appeared to be Rapunzel's mother spoke, holding a brush in her hands. She seemed to be a little past middle aged, for she had some gray hairs and slightly wrinkled skin.

"Uh, sure, Mother." Rapunzel agreed, pulling out a wooden chair. Jack cocked an eyebrow. Sing to her? He thought. Over the years, he'd seen little girls request their mothers to sing for them instead of the other way around. He continued to watch as Rapunzel sat down in the chair, allowing her mother to take a hold of her hair. And then she began to sing.

"Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fate's design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine…"

Jack's eyes grew large as he saw what unfolded. The short, simple verse that Rapunzel sang was quite literally, magical. Rapunzel's hair golden hair began to glow as she sang, shining as bright as the sun and illuminating the room. And then he looked to the girl's mom, who seemed perfectly calm, but slowly changing. One by one the gray hairs in her head began to turn as black as the rest of her hair; the wrinkles along her flesh began to disappear. Rapunzel's light, airy voice diminished into quietness and her mother withdrew her hand and the brush from the girl. She let out a refreshed sigh and patted Rapunzel's shoulder, "Thank you, Rapunzel."

"It's no problem." She responded modestly and stood from the chair.

"Now, I think I'm ready to start up dinner. Should be ready in a little bit." She said and then went into the kitchen.

"Ok." Rapunzel smiled until she could no longer see her mom. Then she quickly turned on her heel and headed upstairs.

Jack backed up and positioned himself on her bed, pretending to be occupied with the animation book. "I'm back." Rapunzel huffed. Jack waved nonchalantly in return. Rapunzel let out a breath of air and plopped down on the mattress. Then she eyed Jack suspiciously, "Did you hear any of that?"

He tried to keep a straight face, but as he met her gaze, his lips cracked into an ashamed grin. "Sorry."

Rapunzel groaned and asked with worry, "How much did you hear?"

"Um… all of it, I guess." Jack admitted. He watched as her face fell and he started to feel a little guilty for listening in on the events downstairs.

"You're probably wanting an explanation, then?" She asked.

"That'd be helpful." Jack uttered. Rapunzel took in a big breath and then exhaled. She began where she did when she'd been interrupted.

"The truth is I have magical hair and it, well, when I sing it glows." As she finished her sentence, her face quite obviously showed she expected Jack to give her a funny look.

"Yeah, I saw that." Jack responded.

"Yeah, so- wait! You saw what happened?" Rapunzel inquired.

A shamefaced grin split across his face like before. "Yes."

Rapunzel's expression grew somber, "I'm betting you think I'm some sort of freak, now, right?" She turned away from him.

"You'd lose that bet." Jack chuckled, good-naturedly. Surprised by this statement, she faced him again, and then a small smile formed upon her lips.

"What makes you say that, Jack?" She cocked her head to the side, eyeing him with interest.

"Trust me, Rapunzel. I spent 300 years feeling the way you do and… well, long story short I know you're not a freak. If anything you're…" He stopped himself, realizing what he was about to say.

"I'm what?" Rapunzel, grinning good-naturedly, pushed for him to continue. Jack gulped and gathered to courage to finish his sentence. Suddenly, the purple curtains to Rapunzel's room parted and her mother appeared in the entrance. Rapunzel blinked looking to her and Jack slightly tensed. The dark-haired lady entered, asking,

"Rapunzel, have you seen the frying pan? I can't find it?" She didn't even glance at Jack. He calmed down; the lady could not see him as he expected.

Rapunzel looked to Jack, then stood from the bed, "I'm sorry, Mother. I was… borrowing it." She apologized and dug into her nearby backpack, pulling out the cooking utensil. She turned and handed it over. Her mom eyed her daughter strangely,

"What were you doing with this?"

"Uh, I bring it to school with me in case, you know, I run into ruffians, thugs, men with pointy teeth, etcetera, etcetera…" As she went on, her voice decreased in volume.

"You're mumbling." The woman eyed Rapunzel sternly as she took the pan into her hands.

As Rapunzel enunciated, Jack watched on, looking over the lady with an immediate sense of dislike. Rapunzel's mom smiled upon hearing her daughter's answer and patted the teenager's head. "Good girl." Then her hands wrapped around herself and she shivered. "Why is it so cold in here, Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel peered over at Jack and he snickered at the lady's discomfort. "Well, it _is_ getting close to winter." She offered lamely.

"Might have to invest into those air-conditioning systems…" Rapunzel's mother said in response. "Well, dinner will be ready very soon. Start washing up, ok?" Rapunzel bobbed her head and saw the woman brush past the purple curtains. She twirled around to face Jack once more.

Pascal peeked out of Rapunzel's pocket as his friend approached the winter spirit once more. "So… what were we talking about?" When he heard this, Jack took the opportunity to chicken out from what he was going to say earlier.

"You were explaining your magic hair."

"Right." Rapunzel sat down again. "My hair… it's really special. Something plenty of people would love to get their hands on." Jack thought back to the previous scene he'd witnessed. How Rapunzel's mother had appeared to have gotten younger when the golden locks glowed. What Rapunzel said was definitely true.

"Mother tells me that I stay here because it's the only way I'll be safe from people like that." Rapunzel said. Jack nodded to show he was listening, but he was starting to catch on to something. "So you have to promise not to tell anybody." She spoke with complete seriousness, leaning in close.

"Sure, no, yeah…. Yeah, I promise." Jack agreed, bobbing his head, a bit taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor. Then he said, "Nobody else knows about your hair?"

"No." Rapunzel said.

"Not even Flynn?" He further questioned, the previous query popping up again.

"Nope." Jack contemplated this.

Then Rapunzel looked him dead in the eye and said, "Jack, every day I go to school and come straight home. On weekends, I'm just here."

Jack returned her gaze with wide eyes. "Are… are you serious? Man… Rapunzel, I can't believe… there is so much you haven't seen…"

"I know." She said, solemnly.

"No… you don't know what you're missing!" Jack stood impulsively, grabbing his staff. "I've got lots to show you," He grabbed her hand, pulling her off the bed. Rapunzel gasped lightly, a shock of cold running through her skin.

"What? But, Jack-" She started as she was led to a nearby window. And then the sound of Mother's voice was heard once more.

"Rapunzel! Dinner time!"

Jack stopped and looked in the direction of the curtains. Rapunzel withdrew her hand from his, "Mother's expecting me…" A wave of disappointment washed over Jack and it was apparent on his face.

"Maybe some other time, though… I'd be more than happy to go." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. A little smile crossed his lips as he looked Rapunzel in her green eyes.

"Rapunzel! Your food is going to get cold!" Another call sounded.

"Coming!" Rapunzel responded over her shoulder. Her hand slipped off of Jack's shoulder and he said,

"I'd better be heading home, anyways…" Jack shrugged. The two headed down the steps.

At the window that led outside, Jack stood on the windowsill. "We didn't get any work done." Rapunzel realized.

Jack laughed, "Well, then I guess that means I'll be coming over again."

Rapunzel grinned, "I guess it does..." Jack took a step back closer to the edge of the sill and placed his hand against the side of one of the window's doors.

"I'm holding you to that offer. You're gonna see the world, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel only smiled, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Jack waved and then turned to the sky, "Hey! Wind! Take me home!" He shouted. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew past and Jack flew off the windowsill. Rapunzel gasped, peering outside of the window. She caught a glimpse of him to her right and then saw him rise up higher and higher until he was by the moon; a small spot of light flying across the sky like a shooting star. Rapunzel sighed in wonder and Pascal made his way back to her shoulder, watching until Jack disappeared out of sight.

"Rapunzel? What are you doing? I told you dinner is ready." The raven-haired lady appeared at the kitchen entrance.

"Oh. Right. I was just… looking outside…"

"Well, close the window… no wonder it was so cold in here…" She said. Rapunzel obeyed and gave one last look at the sky before swinging the wooden doors together and joining her mother for supper.

Darkness fell over the stone castle nestled in the Scottish highlands; a quiet evening passed for the royal family of DunBroch. The king and queen were occupied with their responsibilities as rulers of the kingdom, the princes- triplets- were off somewhere probably up to no good and the princess was in her bedroom, waiting for her guest to arrive.

Merida examined her bow in the firelight that illuminated the room. "Hm…" She squinted at the wood and then grabbed a small carving knife off of the nearby table. The princess set to carefully embedding an image into the object when there was a banging at the door downstairs. She looked in that stopped what she was doing and looked to the direction of the door. "He's here." Merida said to herself. She stood to her feet and placed the knife and bow down. Before taking one last look at it, she departed her room and headed downstairs.

She heaved the huge doors to the castle open to and there was her classmate standing before her; he held a large, old book under his arm. "Hiccup." Merida spoke out, hands to still holding either door open.

"Hey, Merida." The boy held up his hand as a greeting.

"Welcome." Merida let go of the doors and stood to the side for Hiccup to enter.

"Thanks." Said Hiccup as he came inside. He took in the sight of the ancient throne room and his eyes widened in amazement, "Wow." Merida shut the doors and caught up to Hiccup.

"M-hm. This is my home." She followed his gaze.

"I swear my house is like a shack compared to all of, all of this." He muttered to himself.

"All of this? Hiccup, you haven't seen anything yet." Merida had heard his statement.

"Haven't I? Well then, I guess the mile and a half I had to walk to the front door- plus the five minute journey through the halls doesn't count."

"No." Merida shook her head, smirking a bit. Hiccup rolled his eyes and Merida giggled before they looked to the stairwell where Merida's mother appeared.

"Merida? What are you doing down there? Who's that wee lad beside you?" She spoke as she descended the steps. Hiccup winced slightly upon hearing her refer to him as a 'wee lad'. The queen finally reached the two teenagers and eyed the boy curiously. Merida quickly realized why.

"Mum, this is my classmate, Hiccup." She hastily cleared things up. "We're paired up to work on a project together for school."

"Oh?" The queen's disappointment was hidden when she managed to stifle a giggle as she heard the boy's name. "I'm Elinor, Merida's mother." She introduced herself.

"Um, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Hiccup said and then bowed, albeit awkwardly.

"Likewise." Elinor responded, graciously, pleased by his politeness. She eyed Merida, looked to Hiccup and then back to Merida. "Such manners. One doesn't find young men like you very often these days." She complimented, glancing at Merida again. Hiccup grinned bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. Merida just looked at her mother incredulously. "Would you like a spot of tea, Hiccup?" She offered.

"We've got a lot of work to do, mom. No time to waste on snacks and such." Merida cut in, hoping to get out of the situation.

"Merida, do not speak out of turn. I was addressing Hiccup." Elinor scolded her daughter mildly, before turning her attention back to Hiccup.

"No thanks, I'm not really a tea sort of guy…" Hiccup declined respectfully and Merida sighed gratefully.

"Oh… alright then." The queen cleared her throat. "Well, you two can be off, I suppose."

Merida bobbed her head and made her way to the stairs. "Let's go, Hiccup." She gestured to the steps.

"Yeah. Right. Uh… again, it was nice meeting you." He spoke to the queen and the simply nodded and watched the two off.

Merida closed the door behind the two and exhaled in relief. "So, then." She turned to her classmate. Hiccup dropped his heavy book onto the nearby table and it landed with a thunk!

"What's that?" She eyed it curiously, and pulled out a chair, sitting down.

"Book on the history of animation. I brought it for the project." He replied, sitting down as well.

"Oh, that's right." She scooted the wooden chair closer to Hiccup. "Here, let me see." She leaned over to get a better view. Hiccup moved over a little, blowing away the hair of hers that got in his face. Merida noticed and sheepishly apologized, "Sorry." She pushed a mass of her curly locks out of the way.

"It's fine." Hiccup responded and opened the book. Merida held out her hand and flipped to the title page, which read 'Animation as a Whole: From 20th century to Now: Volume 5'. She flipped to the table of contents. "Twenty Two chapters in all…" She spoke aloud.

"We've got till spring to do this… that's around four months, so… a chapter a day, maybe?" He looked to her.

"Fair enough, I guess. Let's get started." Merida said and thumbed through the pages until she reached chapter one. She looked at the small print that took almost the entire page, save for an image at the bottom. "Do you want to read aloud, Hiccup?"

"Uh… yeah, sure." Hiccup replied and bent down over the book. "Animation began with simple drawings on paper…" He began.

When they were through reading the chapter, Hiccup brought out the project guidelines and directions, which he'd tucked into the back of the history book. "At this point, I think we can start on the first task, right?" he looked at Merida. She eyed over the words.

"The first step to animation is the pictures themselves. The first task of this project is to… draw." Merida spoke aloud and slumped in the chair. She wasn't exactly a talented drawer. Beside her, though, Hiccup was pulling a black journal from the pocket of his green hoodie. "What do you have there?" She sat up straighter.

"It's my notebook. Sometimes I sketch things or write stuff down…" Hiccup placed it on the table and began leafing through it to a blank page. He supplied a writing utensil from the pocket and set its point on the paper.

"What are you going to draw?" Merida asked. Hiccup thought for a second.

"I'm not sure yet." He glanced around her for something to catch his interest.

"How about my bow?" Merida asked, pointing to it. Hiccup looked at it and small smile appeared on his face. He nodded and she brought it closer for him to see. Then he began to draw out lines.

As he drew, Hiccup questioned, "What are you doing with a bow, anyway?"

"I'm an archer…" She said. Then her eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask? Should a princess not care for archery… in your opinion?"

Hiccup carefully avoided stepping on a landmine and replied, "No, no. Actually, where I come from, it's perfectly normal for girls to be into archery, fighting… all of that tough stuff."

"Where you come from sounds great, then." Merida commented.

"Try saying that again after spending 16 years there." Hiccup answered. Merida shrugged and then leaned forward. She examined Hiccup's sketch of her bow and her eyes widened in amazement, a smile pulling at her lips.

"You're a fine artist, Hiccup." She praised him and he grinned at the compliment. "Do you take lessons?" She asked.

"Um… no, I just started as a kid and got better as I got older, I guess…" Was his explanation. "What about you? Do you draw?"

"Just a doodle once in a while." She replied as Hiccup finished his drawing of her bow. "Nothing extraordinary… like that." She looked at it. "Can I see what else you've drawn?" Merida asked.

"Uh, sure." He handed over the book, a little uncertainty in his voice. Merida started from the beginning and looked through the pages. She stopped on one particular page and stared at it from a moment. "Is that a dragon, Hiccup?" Merida queried, looking at the reptile's form.

Hiccup replied, "Yeah."

"It's really good. How were you able to put so much detail into it?" She turned to Hiccup. Before he could speak, there was a knocking at Merida's bedroom.

"Merida?" Her mother spoke.

"Come in, Mother." The red-haired girl called, slightly exasperated. The queen entered the room and glanced at Hiccup and her daughter at the table.

"Did the two of you get a lot of work done?" She asked, walking closer. The teenagers nodded in unison. "That's good. Merida, it's time for supper."

"Yes, mum." Merida stood from her chair and Hiccup quickly did so after her.

"I guess I'll, uh, take this as my cue to scram." He said as he gathered his journal and the animation book.

"No, wait, Hiccup. Why don't you stay and have dinner? It's not often that Merida brings home schoolmates." Elinor halted the boy. Merida stood still, turning slightly red at her mother's last statement.

"Well…" Hiccup rubbed his arm, glancing back at Merida. "If Merida wants me to…" Merida groaned lightly under her breath. Of course, he'd leave the decision up to her. The Queen eyed her daughter imploringly and the princess knew she could not refuse.

"Alright. You can eat with us, Hiccup." She said and Elinor smiled with satisfaction.

"The both of you wash up and come to the dining hall. The meal ought to be ready soon." She then departed the room.

"Come on, Hiccup." Merida said.

As the two washed their hands, Merida glanced down at Hiccup's left leg- or rather lack thereof. "Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you lose your leg?" Merida looked back up to him.

"Oh, uh… freak accident. Huge fire, near death experience. Um…" Hiccup answered. Merida easily got the sense that certain parts of the story were being left out.

"What got you into a near death experience?"

"Uh…" Hiccup fumbled, trying to figure out where to begin. And then, suddenly, a small bestial cry was heard outside the window.

Merida's eyes got big. "What was that?" She turned to the window.

His eyes huge, too, Hiccup muttered, "Toothless…"

"What?" Merida asked him.

"Nothing." Hiccup quickly responded. Merida was not put at ease by his answer.

"That couldn't have been a bear… or, or… what was that?" She began to move toward the window.

"H-Hold on a second, Merida, uh…" He attempted to stop her, grabbing her wrist.

"We might be in trouble, Hiccup." She said in return, pulling her wrist away and peering out the window.

"But-" Hiccup began, before being hushed by Hiccup.

"Quiet." She whispered and peered out the window, keeping her ears keen. No sound was heard again. Merida withdrew from the window.

"Huh… Let's be off, I guess…" She gave the window one last look before going off. Hiccup followed, sighing in relief.

As they made their way to the dining hall, Hiccup spoke up, "You didn't seem all that happy about me coming to dinner."

Merida looked to him apologetically, "I'm sorry I made it seem that way. I'm just not certain you'll be able to deal with…" They came upon the entrance to the dining hall. Inside were the queen- as well as the burly king and pint-sized princes. "This." She gestured to her family, particularly the men.

"Your family?" He questioned.

"They can be just a wee bit rowdy." Merida explained. The king heard her voice and turned in his chair a bit.

"Merida!" His voice boomed jovially. Then he noticed Hiccup behind her. "Who's that?"

"Fergus, this is our guest, Hiccup." Elinor spoke, calmly.

"Hiccup? Pffft!" He burst into uncontrollable laughter. "That's a great name, that is!" He joked.

"Yeah, I know." Hiccup said, crossing into the room.

"Fergus." Elinor uttered in a warning tone. She gave him a look and he knew to settle down.

"Sorry… Hiccup. It's nice to meet you." He apologized, holding back a chuckle. The boy forgave him, but then nearly tripped over three wooden swords lying haphazardly on the ground. He glanced up to see the three princes smiling innocently at him.

"Boys, when I told you not to keep your weapons on the table, that didn't mean place them on the floor instead." She chastised. The three picked up the swords and placed them at the back of their seats. Hiccup more tentatively made his way to an empty chair and examined the seat first before sitting down. Merida sat beside him. And supper began.

Hiccup prodded the food in front of him, before cutting into eat and taking a bite. "Hm…" He "Psst." She turned her attention to the boy. He pointed at the food questioningly.

"That's haggis." She told him. He kept chewing, eyeing her blankly. "Sheep's stomach."

"Mm." He swallowed and responded, "Interesting."

"So, Hiccup. What about you? Tell us about yourself." Fergus said.

"Um… well… I, uh, go to high school with Merida…" He started.

"Go on." The king pushed for him to continue, motioning with the turkey leg in his hand.

"I'm from Berk, which is a quaint village once you get past the freezing temperatures and rough Viking hospitality." He went on. Fergus, who'd been chewing on the turkey leg, stopped cold and then he started to choke. Hiccup and Merida stared wide-eyed at the man. He began forcing the food out of his system, pounding his belly until Elinor had to come up and help him. Finally, the meat came spewing out and landed across the room, hitting the wall. Fergus took a few breaths before looking at Hiccup, as did Elinor. "Viking?!"

"Yeah?" He answered unsurely.

"Merida, you brought home a Viking?" He then faced Merida.

"Yes?" Merida replied, with the same uncertainty as Hiccup. The princes stared at her as well.

"Our ancestors were fierce enemies of the Vikings, or don't you remember?" The king's voice grew rather intimidating. Hiccup began to look uncomfortable and Merida scoffed.

"Dad, that was centuries ago."

Hiccup dared to speak up, "B-besides, our teacher sort of put all of the partners together, so…"

Fergus did not say anything for a moment and Merida added, "You shouldn't be keeping grudges like that."

After a bit of silence, Elinor spoke, "I think Merida is right." He looked to Elinor in minor shock. Then he gazed at Hiccup for a moment.

"He's harmless, I swear, Dad. Look. Not a bit of meat on these bones." Merida grabbed his arm and held it up, pointing at it with her other hand.

"Hey." Hiccup said in defense, taking his arm back.

The king chortled lightly and the teens turned to look at him. He quickly cleared his throat. And then he just nodded. The tension in the room started to fade and Elinor went back to her seat.

"I think it's an interesting occurrence the two were put into a pair. Perhaps, it may settle any lasting disputes between our people."

"What's that supposed to mean, mom?" She inquired. The queen only gave her daughter a knowing glance before returning to her meal.

Hiccup and Merida looked at each other and then quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed.

After dinner, Hiccup and Merida headed upstairs for him to gather his things. "Oh, mum…" She groaned as she brought the doors closed behind her.

"I dunno… She doesn't seem so bad…" Hiccup spoke, shrugging, as he picked up the animation book.

Hiccup looked to her, sliding his notebook and pencil into his pocket. Merida met his gaze and sighed, "She's not a total pain, I guess." She admitted. "Not like she used to be… back then, it seemed like we could never come to an understanding…"

"Sounds like how things were for me and my dad a while back…" Hiccup said, his voice a bit low, his stare falling upon the journal now hidden in his pocket.

Merida raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, Hiccup?"

He hesitantly looked back up at her, "We didn't really get along. I mean, there he was, the, big, brawny village chief… and then there I was, his scrawny little son who's supposed to miraculously live up to his expectations." Merida eyed him, becoming keen with interest. "And he just… he just never listened to me… he didn't get me, and, and it's like he never took the time to try to, you know?"

Merida's voice grew quiet, too, "Yeah, I do. That was my mother." There was a moment of silence and then she said, "It was as if… he just didn't care… wasn't it?"

Hiccup nodded, "Exactly." Merida frowned.

"I know how you felt, then." She spoke with sincerity, smiling sadly. He returned the gesture, but then cleared his throat.

"…Things have been better since then… I mean, I think he finally accepts me for who I am…"

"It's the same with me… but sometimes, mom can still be… um… like she was downstairs." Merida's voice became a little louder as the solemnity of the conservation began to pass.

"Yeah…" He chuckled nervously. He looked at her and she returned his gaze, a small smile on her face. He gulped and said, "Well, I should be leaving now… Berk is a long way from here…"

"Oh. Ok." Merida nodded, tucking a curl behind her ear. Hiccup walked to the door and pulled it open (albeit with a little force than the average man).

"I'll see you tomorrow." He called over his shoulder, a grin on his face.

"Bye." She smiled again. And then the door closed and he was gone. The princess stood still for a couple moments, and then her eyebrows furrowed in thought. And then she was off, pulling the door open and running down the stairs. "Wait! Hiccup! I had some questions that you didn't answer." She stopped looking around. Merida heard a noise presumably from outside and followed it. She bounded out the side door and onto the grass, panting. The coldness of the autumn evening immediately caught her attention, and she pulled on her tan hoodie tighter. She glanced in the darkness when an even darker silhouette showed up and the figure of a teenaged boy. Merida squinted and walked closer. A cry was heard again, just like the one earlier and she gasped.

The boy, Hiccup, did, too and faced Merida. The silhouette did as well and its two, huge green eyes stood out in the night. Her mouth was completely agape, now. She stopped walking and gazed at the creature before her.

"So that's it! That's how you'd drawn the picture and… and the sound from before… because you've got yourself a, a pet dragon!" She exclaimed. Hiccup winced and the reptile eyed her cautiously, his pupils dilated.

"It's okay, bud, she's a friend." He whispered. The dragon looked at Hiccup before relaxing and facing Merida again. The princess stared at the dragon in awe,

"How did you… When did you… Where… Hiccup?" She peeked back up to the Viking teen.

"Merida, this is Toothless. Toothless, Merida."

"Toothless?" Merida spoke, looking at his mouth. "Hm…" Then she scowled. "Care to explain a bit more, Hiccup?"

Hiccup bit his lip, but then nodded, "Back in Berk… quite a while ago, dragons used to be the big pest around the village. You know, stealing our food and burning our houses down. So, what we had to do was start fighting them. And me, well, you said it yourself. Not any meat on these bones…"

"So that's why you weren't what you're father expected?" Merida asked.

"Yeah. During one of the night raids, I was trying to show everyone that I am useful… and managed to take Toothless, here, down. But when I found him I… I wouldn't kill him."

"And that's what formed the bond…" Merida finished for him. He agreed.

"… What do you think?" Hiccup asked after a moment. Merida let her gaze fall on Toothless, who grew more relaxed in her presence. Tentatively, she reached out and the dragon moved back slightly, but then settled down again. Softly, she touched his flesh, just between his nostrils. She exhaled, lightly and Toothless' irises got bigger, his stare less intimidating. A big smile crossed her lips and she looked to Hiccup, "Wow." She uttered. Hiccup grinned back and she slowly withdrew from Toothless, their eyes still locked onto one another. Merida softened, then frowned again and turned to punch Hiccup in the shoulder.

"Hey! Ow! What, What'd you do that for?" He rubbed his now sore shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me before, Hiccup?" She demanded.

"Well… well, because… I don't know… I wasn't sure how you'd react…" Hiccup tried to clarify.

Merida just shook her head, "Is this some kind of big secret of yours?"

"Not completely. I mean, everyone in Berk knows, Jack knows…"

"Jack? Jack Frost? That white-haired lad with the wooden stick?" Merida asked, sure she'd seen the two navigate the high schools hallways together.

Hiccup nodded, "Yup. He's my best friend, right next to Toothless, that is." He glanced up at Toothless and so did Merida.

"You don't tell anyone else at school about your dragon?"

"No…" Hiccup sighed. "It was hard enough for me to be accepted in my village… then, my dad thinks it's a great idea for me to go to high school. Now I've got a whole new crowd of people to figure out my way through…"

"Huh…" Merida spoke with her eyes downcast. She looked up again to see Toothless nudging Hiccup playfully with his head. Hiccup smiled and rubbed his forehead. And suddenly, gone was the awkward teenager from school, beside Toothless he seemed at ease- as if he actually felt comfortable in his own skin for once. Merida thought to her days off when she could be herself in the forest, practicing her archery and galloping on her horse, Angus. "I think I understand what you mean, Hiccup." She spoke up.

"Yeah?" Hiccup began to mount himself onto Toothless' back. Merida nodded and then her eyes got big.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you… In Berk, we're dragon-riding Vikings." Hiccup said.

At first, she was baffled. Ride a dragon? The more she thought about it though, the more amazing the idea sounded; she walked closer, "Can I ride, too?" But her mother's voice rang out from inside the castle,

"Merida? Where are you? It's past your curfew."

The princess moaned out her detest, looking to the empty spot on Toothless' saddle with longing.

"Another time?" Hiccup looked.

"Looks to be that way…" Merida sighed, her gaze going back to the ground.

"Hey." Hiccup called out for Merida attention and she looked up again. "You'll fly with Toothless next time. Okay?"

"Fine." Merida gave him a half-smile and took a few steps back. Hiccup then leaned over slightly and asked to the dragon,

"Ready, Toothless?" Toothless was already getting in gear and when Hiccup shouted, "Let's go!" He was extending his wings and flapping them; slowly he and Hiccup were rising from the ground.

Merida laughed, completely amazed and watched them until the ebony dragon was indistinguishable in the night.

"Merida!" Elinor shouted.

"I'm coming, mum!" Merida turned on her heel and headed back inside.

* * *

**Thank you for reviews, favorites and follows! Oh, and to Alex Leep, you're right about the setting of the story. In the future chapters I'll make sure to address that. **


	7. Meeting 2

**Author's Note: The next chapter with completely new material this time :)**

* * *

The next day, the four returned to school with a smile plastered on their faces. The previous night had turned out better than they'd expected and they were eager to meet each other once again.

Hiccup, flying on Toothless, brought the two to the ground. They landed at their usual spot in the woods near the school. "Ok, Toothless, I'll see you, later." He hopped off the black dragon's back and turned around to find Merida beside a tree. "Gah!" He shouted.

"Good morning, Hiccup." She greeted casually, walking up to him.

"Uh… Merida… How did you-"

"I figured this was why you were in a rush the other day. I nearly followed you here last time, so I just kept on walking." Merida responded, walking forward. "'Morning, Toothless." She bent down so she was face to face with the reptile. Toothless bowed his head down low, closing his eyes and then lifted his head, opening his eyes again. Merida patted his head playfully, smiling. Hiccup stood to the side, scratching his head. "Hey, Hiccup, can I ride Toothless, now?" She looked to him.

Hiccup sighed, "I'd have to teach you first and first period starts in ten minutes." Merida puffed out a frustrated groan. "I thought we agreed on tonight."

"I know, I know. I just can't wait. Curse all these stupid classes." She stuck her tongue out at the school just visible upon the hill through the trees. Hiccup laughed.

"Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner it'll all be over." He began to head to the sloping hill.

"Alright." Merida traipsed behind him. "Goodbye." Merida waved to the dragon and he lifted his head, letting out a small roaring sound with a small smile. "So that's why you call him Toothless." She muttered with a slight grin.

Inside the building, Rapunzel walked beside Flynn who held her dainty hand within his own. Within her mind, she compared his hand to Jack's. It was distinctly warmer, but Rapunzel noted that the chill she felt from Jack wasn't uncomfortable, somehow. "Hey, you want me to pick you something up for breakfast?"

"Sure. Oh, meet me in the library, ok?" Rapunzel spoke.

"No problem." He responded and headed into the cafeteria. Rapunzel walked into the library and pulled out the art book she'd previously check out, slipping it into the return slot. She headed into the arts section again, searching for a new volume to borrow. "Let's see…" She tapped her chin. A figure to the side caught her eye and she recognized it to be the red-haired girl she'd encountered before. The girl turned to her with an amused smirk.

"Will you be needing that ladder again?"

Rapunzel was oblivious to the fact that she was being poked fun at and replied, "No, not this time." She pulled a book on watercolors off of the shelf.

"Oh. Well, whenever there's a high to reach book you want, maybe you could try pulling it down with your hair." She joked with a snicker.

This time Rapunzel sensed the girl's jesting and frowned. Meanwhile, the red-haired student spied over the shelves and when she found what she was looking for, tried reaching for it. It was too high for her, though, even when she stood on the tips of her toes. Rapunzel gathered a lock of her hair and swung out her hair as if it were a lasso, knocking the book from the edge of the shelf. It fell into the red-head's hands and she gasped in surprise. She looked to Rapunzel who was grinning triumphantly, the lock of hair still gripped in her hand. "You're welcome."

Merida stared at her for a moment, but then cracked an impressed smile, chuckling. "Alright, thank you… um…"

"I'm Rapunzel." She introduced herself. "What's your name?"

"Merida." The red-haired girl answered, tucking the book underneath her arm.

"Rapunzel!" A voice called.

"Oh! That's my boyfriend. Gotta go." Rapunzel dropped her hair to the ground and clutched her book in both hands.

"See ya." Merida inclined her head, before starting to flip through the pages of her book.

Rapunzel ran around the bookshelf just to bump into Flynn, who was holding a latte and a doughnut. He nearly dropped them, before he steadied himself. "Whoa!"

"Oops!" Rapunzel helped him keep balance and then when she noticed what was in his hands, jumped a little in excitement.

"I got your favorite." Flynn grinned, holding out the food to her.

"Thanks, Flynn." She smiled, taking the coffee and doughnut into her hands. She stood on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. Flynn blushed and his grin grew even wider. Merida watched out of the corner of her eye and scoffed at the mushiness. Out of the corner of her eye, standing outside of the window of the library in the halls, she spotted the white-haired kid from earlier. He scowled deeply, staring at the same thing that Merida had just witnessed, before shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets and trudging down the hall.

The day continued on quickly and lunchtime came around. Hiccup and Jack met up and received their lunches. At the lunch table, Hiccup began with, "So guess what I found out?"

"What?" Jack asked, uncapping his bottle of chocolate milk.

"Merida's a _princess_." He put extra emphasis on 'princess'.

"Wow. Really? I would've never thought that." Jack said, his lip curling up as he pulled off the top to his drink.

"Yes. So remember how I told you me and Merida are partners on the animation project?"

"Yep." Jack's smirk grew bigger and he took a swig of his milk.

"Well, I went to her house- _which is a castle!-_ and the whole gang was there: king, queen, princes."

"You didn't screw up, did you?" Jack asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No… at least, I don't think so. I mean, they sort of freaked out when they found out I was Viking, 'cause of some bad blood between us and the Scots in the past, but, uh… yeah, I think they like me." He ended with a contented smile.

Jack gulped down more of his drink and nodded.

"And, um… I also told Merida about Toothless." He added quickly.

"Mm!" Jack's cheeks puffed out as he almost did a spit-take, but swallowed down the milk. He exhaled and spoke, "You did?"

Hiccup bobbed his head. A big grin split across Jack's face and he leaned forward, patting Hiccup's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Hiccup." Hiccup rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "So you're serious about this one, huh?"

Hiccup firmly explained, "We're friends." He looked out across the lunchroom to where a certain blonde-haired girl sat. "How'd things go with Rapunzel?"

"Good. I mean, we didn't get any work done, but…" Jack trailed off. Hiccup shook his head. Jack saw and said, "No, look, I learned a lot about her. Like, get this, she-" The winter spirit began, but when he realized what he was about to reveal, he stopped.

Hiccup looked to him to continue, raising an eyebrow. "She, uh… she's really into art. She's got these murals and paintings all over her house. They're amazing." A grin crossed his lips as he remembered the different images.

Interested, due to his own love of art, Hiccup spoke, "Huh… I'd like to see that…"

"Wouldn't you?" Jack took another sip from his drink before forking through the pasta on his tray. "I can't wait to go back tonight."

"Same here. I'm taking Merida to ride Toothless." Hiccup said. Jack, who'd shoved a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth nearly coughed that out, like before.

He swallowed and repeated, "So you're serious about this one?" Hiccup's eyebrows just knit together this time, but pink tinged his cheeks.

Later that evening, Jack eagerly flew to the tower hidden in the forest. He landed on the sill of the tower window and peered inside. "Rapunzel?" He called, scanning about the tower. At the top of the stairs, Rapunzel pushed past the purple curtains, clutching the book on animation in her hands; Pascal was perched on her shoulder once more.

"Jack!" She exclaimed, heading down the steps. Jack went into the tower and just like before, the room got colder. Pascal scampered into Rapunzel's pocket again, not wasting any time to regain his warmth. Rapunzel laughed, shaking her head at the chameleon. "Come on, I've got some things planned out upstairs I want you to see."

She gestured for him to follow her as she headed back upstairs and Jack did. In her bedroom, laid out on her bed, was a huge canvas. Most of it had been painted on, but most areas were left blank. "The first task of the project is to draw something. But I took things a little further than that."

"No kidding." Jack replied, approaching the bed and looking over the painting.

Rapunzel picked up a paintbrush and handed it to him. "Here. Paint anything you want." Jack took it and nodded, climbing onto her bed.

He thought for a moment, before painting out the image of the moon. Meanwhile, Rapunzel was finishing up creating a sun. As time passed, the canvas began to fill with images: Lights, Santa Claus, Pascal, and the Easter Bunny, the Tower, the Tooth Fairy, the forest, the Sandman and then a few skyscrapers. As she painted, Rapunzel looked over, "Santa Claus? Is that the Easter Bunny…"

"Yeah… and the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman." He pointed out the other two.

"Huh… Why do you draw them?" Rapunzel looked over the pictures.

"They're my friends."

"Your friends?" A smile was already spreading across her face.

"Yeah. We're a team. Known as the Guardians of Childhood."

"Guardians of Childhood…" Rapunzel repeated quietly, "So you protect kids."

"Right. As long as there are kids who believe in us, we're around to watch over them."

"That's so sweet. You're like a guardian angel." Rapunzel looked to him with a smile.

"I guess you could say that." Jack nodded, with a small laugh. Rapunzel looked at the pictures again.

"Do you think I could meet them?" Rapunzel asked, eagerness bubbling into her voice.

"They're pretty busy, but, sure, I could introduce you to them sometime." Jack sat up from the painting, satisfied with what he'd managed to draw out. He glanced at what Rapunzel was working, skyscrapers.

"You like the city?" He asked.

"I've never been to one, of course, but they look really fun." She replied as she finished the last touch to red building. A big grin appeared on Jack's face as he set his brush down.

"Then that's where we're going first." He announced.

"Wait- right now?" Rapunzel's eyes grew larger.

"Yeah." He jumped off of the bed, grabbing the wooden staff he'd leaned against the wall. Rapunzel remembered what Jack had told her the night before and a wide smile crossed her lips. She set down her paintbrush as well and followed Jack. Pascal poked his head out of Rapunzel's pocket curiously. Rapunzel descended the stairs as Jack hopped onto the windowsill. She came to a halt once she reached the window, though. She glanced outside and Pascal peered out as well. Butterflies began to grow in her stomach.

"You ready?" Jack asked and she looked up at him.

"Wait." She said and whirled around, heading toward the kitchen. Inside, she fumbled through the cabinets until she found the frying pan. She reached out for it, but as her fingers wrapped around the handle, she faltered. "What if… what if I _shouldn'_t go? Mother… could be right about what she tells me… What do you think, Pascal?" She looked down to the chameleon, who climbed out of her pocket, and onto her shoulder. With his tail, he jabbed toward Jack's direction. Rapunzel showed him a small smile, before turning back to the pan. She pulled out the pan and patted it on her other hand, contemplating for a few more seconds. "Alright. Here I go." She exhaled and stood to her feet, and headed out of the kitchen. "Ok, I'm ready." She appeared before Jack, holding up her pan.

He eyed the pan, chuckling to himself. "What? I never leave home without it." Rapunzel declared, putting the pan under her arm.

"Let's go. Shall we?" He held out her hand and she gladly took it, letting him help her onto the windowsill. And then she was yanked out of the window, her hair trailing behind her.

"Ah! Jack! Jack!" She screamed as she dangled in mid-air, clutching his hand tightly.

"Don't worry." He replied, but he then dropped her for a moment and she squealed even louder, flailing about. Jack dove down to catch her, wrapping his arms around her, and now holding her more securely beneath him. Rapunzel panted, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. "You're fine." He said and she nodded breathlessly. Pascal, who was still within her pocket, poked his head out and glared at the winter spirit. He seemed unfazed, though, and grinned playfully at him.

As Rapunzel tried to calm herself down, she and Jack were halted abruptly and yanked back. He struggled to keep Rapunzel within his grip and nearly dropped her again. They both looked back and Rapunzel groaned as she saw a lock of her hair snagged onto a tree branch below. "What are we gonna do?" She asked.

"Can you tie your hair up somehow?" He questioned.

"I think so. But that would take, like, an hour." Rapunzel responded.

"Well, I can help. We'll never get to the city if your hair gets tangled in trees and stuff." Jack turned the two around and landed on the ground by the tree. He then darted up into the higher branches to free her hair.

"Oh… It is in here _real _good." Jack sighed, inspecting the way the hair weaved in and out of the branches. "Let's see…" He muttered as he carefully pulled the lock out of the branches. Rapunzel waited patiently on the ground. A few minutes passed and finally her hair was freed. "Here you go." Jack smiled, pleased with his accomplishment, and tossed her hair down for her to catch. He jumped down to the ground.

"Thanks." Rapunzel spoke, but then frowned. "I'm sorry to have made you go through all this trouble."

"No, it's no problem. But, you know, if you think it's such a hassle, why don't you just cut your hair." He asked. Rapunzel, who was gathering her hair, gasped a little.

"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly do that. You see, if my hair gets cut, it'll lose its power." She pushed her hair to the side and revealed a short piece of brown hair. Frowning in confusion, Jack walked forward, gazing at the dark lock. "And it turns brown." Rapunzel continued.

"Huh. What's so bad about that, though?"

"Mother says it keeps her well, just knowing that I still have my hair. I bet it'd kill her if I tried to cut it."

"Yeah, that's for sure." Jack muttered. Rapunzel's hair had clearly retained Gothel's youthfulness the day before. Who knows how old the woman would be without Rapunzel's magic. A moment passed before he spoke again, "Let's get your hair fixed up."

"Right." Rapunzel nodded. The two set to tying her hair up. But as Jack worked, frost began to form on the hair and he withdrew, wincing. Rapunzel glanced down and offered a smile, "It's fine." Jack bobbed his head, relieved and continued on, leaving patches of frost in her hair as he did. Several minutes later, the two finished and her hair was loosely gathered into a braid. The ponytail ended just above her ankles and stray hairs escaped the braid. Patches of frost and ice shone in the moonlight, and they actually looked quite nice. "I love it!" Rapunzel gushed, holding the braid out to see. Jack's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Really?"

She nodded, smiling. "Thank you." She said genuinely.

"You're welcome." Jack said in response, still a bit surprised. Then he said, "Come on, Rapunzel." He took her hand and lifted her up again.

Flying was much easier now and within time, bright lights could be seen in the distance. "Is that the city?!" She yelled out against the wind.

"Yep. We're almost there!" He called. Anticipation bubbled up inside of Rapunzel as the lights became more distinguishable as belongings to tall buildings, street lights and cars. Pascal peered out from her pocket and gasped at the sight.

Soon they were soaring over the city and towards a huge building nearby. "What is that!?" Rapunzel shouted, gazing at the structure and marveling it's colorful domes and towers.

"St. Basil's Cathedral." Jack answered, flying over to it. On the tip of the highest tower, Jack landed and carefully set her down on the dome below. She held tightly to the point rising from the structure and her eyes swept over the city below. She felt no fear of being so high, for Rapunzel was too excited.

"Are we in Russia?" She turned to Jack with an amazed expression. He nodded, grinning widely. "Oh my gosh!" She squealed, her hand leaving the point momentarily. She quickly grabbed at it again, giggling nervously. Rapunzel looked down to her pocket. "Look, Pascal! Look, where we are." The chameleon came out of her hoodie pocket and ran up all the way to her head. Perched up there, he received a better look at the city and gawked.

"Pretty cool, right?" Jack spoke.

"Yes! Oh, can we go down to the city and-" Rapunzel began, pointing to the streets with her frying pan, but the clock tower nearby struck 8:00. "What?" Her face fell as she looked to the clock.

"Hm?" Jack crinkled his brows together, looking to the clock as well.

"Mother will be home any minute." Rapunzel said.

"Wha- Are you serious? But we just got here!"

"I know! But if she gets home and I'm not there…" Rapunzel's face contorted into one of extreme anxiety.

Jack sighed, "Yeah… Come on, let me take you home." He extended his hand and Rapunzel took it, a sad look on her face. Pascal returned to her hoodie pocket reluctantly. The girl gave the city one last look before she and Jack flew off the cathedral.

At the tower, Rapunzel slid into the tower and Jack stood on the sill. "I want to go back." She spoke sadly.

"You're gonna. Tomorrow night, it'll be the first thing we do." Outside the tower, Gothel appeared in the clearing and approached the building. "I should probably go now." He turned to leave.

"Wait." Rapunzel grabbed his hand impulsively and he turned back. "I'm happy that I could at least _see _the city tonight, so, thank you, Jack." She smiled at him and he found himself smiling back at her. He nodded and gave her hand a squeeze, before letting go.

Jack jumped out the window and was off just as Gothel's voice rang out, "Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Rapunzel's eyes looked back to the braid her hair was in and flinched. "Just a minute!" She shouted out the window.

Hiccup arrived at the castle of DunBroch just as the sky turned purple and dismounted from Toothless. He whirled around to find a figure standing a couple feet away. He jumped, then when he realized who it was said, "Again? Really?"

Merida laughed as she came forward, "I've been waiting here since before you arrived. How could you miss me?"

Hiccup exhaled, shrugging and walked a couple paces closer. Merida brought a piece of folded paper out of her hoodie pocket and unfolded it. It was the instructions sheet for the animation project. "Take a look at this, Hiccup." She held the paper out for him. Hiccup took the paper and as he looked over it, Merida added, "Read the second task."

Hiccup scanned the words until he found what she was talking about. "Animators get huge inspiration from experiences. Whether it be exploring the lands where the film is set or taking part in activities like the characters. Try having an adventure of your own."

"Do you know what that means, Hiccup?" Merida inquired, excitement dripping into her voice.

"Oh, yes. Toothless, you up for another run?" He turned back to his reptilian friend and Toothless bobbed his head. Merida hopped on her feet eagerly, a huge smile on her face. She came forward and climbed onto Toothless' back just as she did with her horse, Angus.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Hiccup chuckled, handing her paper back. Merida shook her head, her curls flying about. "Your family knows you're out here, right?"

"Yes, yes. I told mum and dad that you and me will be working outdoors today. As for my brothers, well, they're up to mischief at the moment, no doubt." Hiccup thought of the mischievous youngsters he'd met the day before. He didn't disagree with Merida's words. "Well, come on, Hiccup." Merida patted at a spot on Toothless' back.

The Viking teen came forward and mounted himself on Toothless again, taking a spot in front of Merida. "You might want to hold on to something. Toothless is steady, but there's no guarantee you won't fall off." Merida nodded and looked about for something to grab. That's when it hit her what she was supposed to do.

"Oh." She scooted forward and wrapped her arms around Hiccup. His face grew warm as he felt her light touch and he cleared his throat, feeling flustered. "Alright, Toothless. Let's fly."

Merida bit her lip as Toothless started off trotting along the land. The cliff just beyond the castle came closer and soon Toothless broke into a sprint. His wings had spread out and begun to beat and when he ran out of earth to move upon he soared across the air. Merida gasped as they raised high above the cliff. She looked back as the castle grew smaller and smaller as Toothless sped further into the sky; her fingers instinctively clutched the fabric of Hiccup's clothes as the dragon flew up vertically. Merida laughed with glee and Hiccup smiled to himself. Toothless flew on and then steadied himself, causing Merida to loosen her grip on Hiccup.

She looked all about her and gasped. They were so high up that it seemed they were right next to the moon. The night was cloudless and the now dark sky had begun to display blinking stars. Merida's expression turned into one of complete awe. They sailed across the sky and she gazed down below at the forest. "I can't believe it… I'm actually flying on a dragon!" Merida shouted in disbelief. "Oh, this is wonderful!" She shouted, removing her arms from Hiccup. Merida spread her arms out wide like Toothless' spread wings; she closed her eyes and roll back until it was facing up. Merida laughed again and whooped.

"We shouldn't go any farther than here." Hiccup spoke, sometime later, as they approached an open sea.

Merida almost didn't want to go back, but nodded, "I think your dragon could use a break." She patted Toothless side.

"Come on, bud. Let's head back." He said and Toothless maneuvered about, going in the opposite direction. Merida's arms settled around Hiccup again as she took one final look at the view before Toothless dove back to the earth. After some time, the castle of DunBroch came into sight and Toothless slowed down. He landed at the spot near the castle again. The two dismounted and Merida jumped about with joy.

Hiccup grinned and spoke, "So how was it? Your first ride with Toothless?"

"Amazing! Hiccup, I haven't enjoyed myself so much as just now in a long time!" Merida whirled around to face him. She looked to Toothless. "I'd love to learn to ride a dragon." She spoke wistfully.

"It's like I said before. I'd be happy to teach you." Hiccup offered, placing a hand on Toothless' cool scales.

Merida bobbed her head eagerly, then she thought for a moment. "Why don't you tell others about Toothless? I'm sure there are people out there who'd love to have the same experience I just had."

Hiccup furrowed his brows, "I don't know, I…" He began when there was a rustling in the bushes nearby. His eyes darted up and Merida whirled about, growing cautious. Toothless' eyes narrowed; his teeth jutted out and he bared them dangerously. There was more rustling and then a figure fell out of the bushes, rolling onto his bottom. Merida's eyes grew wide. "Harris?" She eyed over the red-haired boy. He shook his head, a bit dizzy and then looked up. He smiled sheepishly at his sister and Hiccup. Then his eyes landed on Toothless. "Ooh!" He cried and stood to his feet running to the dragon. Toothless had calmed down and eyed Harris curiously. "Grrr!" Harris bared his teeth playfully and then tackled Toothless. The dragon nudged him and Harris held on tighter. Merida shook her head, but smiled. Hiccup laughed.

"Are your brothers here, too?" She asked. Harris turned to stare at her and shook his head. But then there was a sniffle and a sneeze heard in the bushes. A giggle was heard after that. Merida looked back to Harris. He nodded. "Hubert! Hamish! Come on out!" Merida called. The boys popped out of the bushes after a moment and ran to join their brother.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Hiccup came forward.

Hubert pointed at the dragon and then jumped at one of Toothless' legs, latching onto it. Hamish struggled to climb onto his back. "The wee devils…" Merida muttered before speaking louder, "Does mum know you left the castle?"

"Uh-uh." Hamish sounded, sitting on Toothless' saddle.

"Mum will be cross and I'm not about to take the blame." Merida tried to sound stern.

"Merida's right." Hiccup agreed, standing beside her.

"Merida! Come in! And have you seen the boys?" Elinor's voice rang out. Merida turned to the boys.

"Aw…" Hamish slid onto the ground and Hubert dropped to the ground, letting go of Toothless' leg. Harris, who was on Toothless' head, holding onto either side, pouted. He rubbed his cheek against the dragon's scales.

Merida sighed, "You can play next time Hiccup comes over. Isn't that right?" She glanced over at him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Uh…" Hiccup had found himself gazing at the triplets play with Toothless. Merida's words from before rang in his mind. They all looked happy. Harris, now, standing on the ground was nudged by Toothless playfully this time and Harris laughed. Maybe Merida was right about letting others know about Toothless. "They can play next time."

"See?" Merida said.

"Merida!" Elinor shouted again.

"We'd better get going. Come on, boys." Merida gestured to the three princes. "Goodnight, Hiccup. Toothless." Merida waved and so did the boys.

"Goodnight." Hiccup waved and the three turned around.

"Tomorrow's dragon training." Hiccup called behind her.

"Can't wait!" Merida called back. She turned around, walking backward for a few moments. "And thanks for today, Hiccup."

"No problem." Hiccup smiled and so did Merida before she turned around again. When they disappeared out of sight, he faced Toothless. "Let's go home, Toothless." He got onto his back and the two were quickly off. As they flew away, Hiccup continued to think about Merida's words.

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**Favorite, Follow, Review! I'm really happy you guys are liking this story :D**


	8. Meeting 3 (Rain Check)

**UPDATE! I'm sorry it took a month, but here it is! School is out at the end of May, so new chapters should definitely be coming quicker around then. **

**I'm also sorry that nothing huge happens in this chapter, but the next chapter will definitely be big :) **

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He got it! It hit him as Hiccup had ridden home to Berk with Toothless. Now he couldn't wait to tell Merida about his new idea…

For the majority of the day, however, Merida was nowhere to be found at school. "Just my luck… I've got a great new idea and she decides _today _is a good day to be a no-show?" He grumbled to himself. He and Jack were now walking to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Spoke too soon, buddy. Look over there." Jack pointed to a lunch table on the far side of the room and there, Merida sat with her friends from Scotland.

"Merida!" Hiccup spoke rather loudly; a few students looked to him oddly and the boy cleared his throat. "Um… Come on, Jack." He gestured to his friend, motioning for him to follow.

"Nah, that's fine, I'll go get us our lunches." Jack shook his head, turning to leave.

"Wha- well, yeah, fine, I'll go by myself…" Hiccup called after him. The young Viking sighed and walked forward, pulling a sheet of paper out of his pocket. He made his way over to Merida's table. Once there, the girl smiled brightly, waving. The three boys with her looked to Hiccup with faces that revealed they didn't know what to make of him. He swallowed, returning their gazes before looking back to Merida.

"Hello, Hiccup." She said as she opened up her milk carton.

"Hey… um, Where were you today?"

"Oh, right. There was some business at home that my family had to deal with." She spoke, casually.

"Oh… well, I have something to show you." He held up the paper in his grip.

Merida nodded, gulping down her milk and then spoke, "Hand it over." The girl outstretched her hand.

"I sort of wanted to show you in private… no offense to you guys." Hiccup quickly acknowledged the men.

"None taken, it's not like we're impressed." Young Macintosh spoke, leaning back in his chair and grinning smugly.

"…ActuallyIThinkHe'sRight,," Young MacGuffin added.

"What?" Hiccup eyed the boys in confusion, particularly MacGuffin. Wee Dingwall eyed the boy's nether regions for a moment and then cocked an eyebrow.

"What?!" Hiccup now looked at them incredulously. "Are you serious?! No, no, that's just… No!"

Merida crinkled her face up in disgust; she was not naïve to the subject matter.

"Look, I just wanted to tell Merida an idea for our school project." Hiccup unwrinkled the paper in his hand, pointing to its heading.

"You see, lads?" Merida said.

"And I sort of want to keep it a secret, sooo, yeah." Hiccup rubbed his shoulder. Merida stood from her seat.

"Excuse us…" She said to the boys, before grabbing Hiccup's arm and dragging him away. "I swear, those boys…" Merida muttered, letting go of his arm once they were a good distance away.

"_Why_ would they think I was talking about my… you-know-what?" Hiccup asked and Merida shook her head,

"Only the gods know… but between you and me I did see one of _those _magazines in MacIntosh's bag the other day… " Merida whispered.

"Jeez…" Hiccup ran a hand through his hair as they arrived at his lunch table. Jack was already there, munching on chicken fingers. He waved at Merida, who waved in return. Hiccup pulled out the chair beside him and she sat down.

"So what's this idea you wanted to tell me? And should he still be here?" She pointed to Jack.

"What?" He looked from Hiccup to Merida, his eyes furrowing in confusion.

"No, Jack stays. He knows about Toothless so there's no problem." Hiccup answered.

Jack sat back in his seat, smiling with satisfaction. Merida looked to him, raising an eyebrow then faced Hiccup. "Alright, go on."

"Ok, well, I thought about what you said last night… about letting others know about Toothless and dragon-riding… and I came up with something. Here, look at this." Hiccup smoothed out the project rubric on the table and then pointed to the text near the bottom. "It talks about our final presentation."

Merida slid the paper closer to her and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, reading over the text. When she was finished reading, she spoke, "Ok…"

"The last thing at the bottom. It says you can make a short animated film, so… I was thinking…" He looked to Jack, who was now leaning forward, before speaking, "We make a short film about dragons…"

"Cool." Jack grinned.

"You really wanna do it?" Merida was also smiling. Hiccup nodded, beginning to grin himself.

"Great." Merida clasped her hands together and Jack clapped, and then leaned over, giving Hiccup's shoulder a nudge.

"Alright, alright, you guys…" Hiccup spoke, though he was still smiling.

"What? You revealing your big secret to the school? That's a _big_ deal, Hiccup." Jack laughed good-naturedly.

"He's right." Merida agreed.

"Thank you." Jack smiled, then added, "I'm Jack Frost, by the way. I don't think we've actually _met_ before." Jack extended his hand.

"True. I'm Princess Merida…" She shook the boy's hand, "…of the clan DunBroch," Merida quickly added.

"Right, princess… Hiccup was telling me about that…" Jack had a slight smirk on his face.

"Oh… does he talk a lot about me?" Merida raised an eyebrow, curious.

"Guys, I'm right here…" Hiccup raised his hand, scowling irritably.

"We know…" Jack turned to his friend, still grinning cockily. His eyes then looked up and the smile was wiped clear from his face. It happened so quickly that Merida was taken aback; she turned around to see what he was looking at. It was Rapunzel, donning a friendly smile and waving as she passed. She turned back to Jack, who was waving back, a now bright grin on his face. Hiccup and Merida looked to each other as Jack watched her leave.

He looked back to his friends and they had knowing looks on their faces. "What?" He asked defensively. Merida remembered how upset he'd looked the other day when he'd seen Rapunzel with the other boy, Flynn. That along with what had just happened clicked an obvious conclusion in her mind.

"You fancy that lass, don't you?" Merida leaned in, smiling cheekily and pointing toward where she'd left.

"I what?" Jack knit his eyebrows together.

"Have a big crush on her? Yes." Hiccup nodded to Merida. Jack blushed, scowling at Hiccup. Merida smiled with amusement.

"Aw, poor thing. It's a pity she's already with someone else…" Merida's smile turned into a slight frown.

"Thanks for reminding me." Jack's scowl deepened and he folded his arms, his eyes downcast. Merida's frown became genuine, and she felt a little guilty for a moment.

"But it won't last forever… Courting isn't that big of a deal nowadays…" She said.

"It just bothers me so much to see them together _right now_, though…" Jack looked up.

Hiccup spoke up, "Okay, maybe Rapunzel's with Flynn during the day, but remember she's your partner? Rapunzel's all yours after school."

"As friends." Jack added.

"Well, yeah, but you have to admit, you guys just met, like, a few days ago…" The lunch bell rang.

"Oh, I've got to get back to the lads." Merida stood from her chair. "I'll see you tonight, Hiccup." An excited grin crossed her lips. "And Jack, give it some time, Rapunzel may come around, yet." Merida added, pushing her chair in. Jack nodded, but it was half-hearted.

Jack Frost hopped from a chimney and slid down the roof, his mind still on the words of his friend and Merida. He shook his head and grumbled rather loudly, "It's just not fair!" He turned to the sky where the late afternoon sunshine began to be phased out by gray. Storm clouds were rolling in. "Why him?" He spoke.

"I-instead of me…" He lowered his head; suddenly something plopped on his head. A raindrop. He looked up and more raindrops began to land on his face. Thunder was heard somewhere nearby. "Yeah, thanks, really, that's just… that's just perfect…" He said at the sky. The moon wasn't anywhere in sight at the moment. The progressively dark sky caused him to remember where he was supposed to be soon when night fell. The light drizzle became full out rainfall and the water began to freeze on Jack's skin. "Aw, man…" He muttered and quickly pulled on his hood and jumped into the air, the wind lifting him up higher.

Rapunzel waited near the window, eyes big with worry. Dinner had ended about 20 minutes ago and her mother had gone to sleep. Rapunzel was in her pink nightgown, but refused to go to sleep. It was raining hard outside, but Rapunzel didn't move from her lookout post. "I know he's coming, Pascal." She turned to the chameleon. Pascal didn't look so sure, but didn't make this especially apparent to her. Several more minutes passed before something appeared in the distance. Rapunzel gasped, "Look!" It really was Jack.

"I knew you'd make it, Jack!" She said as he landed on the windowsill.

"I wouldn't bail on you, Rapunzel." He offered a smile as he pulled his hoodie down. Rapunzel smiled brightly in return, tucking a lock of her hair back.

"You must have had a lot of trouble getting here. It's raining cats and dogs out there." She peered outside.

"Well, yeah, I mean, I'm fine, but the nearest town and the next one over might be dealing with a little freezing rain…" He spoke.

Rapunzel giggled and Jack looked to her with a questioning look. She stopped laughing, "What? That wasn't a joke?"

Jack shook his head, grinning at the fact that she'd thought so. He dusted his shoulders and then looked back to the rain, "Looks like we won't be going back to Russia tonight…"

"Mm…" Rapunzel said, but then turned to the winter spirit, "But I'm just glad you're here, Jack." She smiled, which caused a smile to appear on his face as well. It faltered then, and he spoke,

"Yeah, well… let's get to work then…" He glanced upstairs. Rapunzel followed his gaze and nodded,

"Ok…" She led the way up the steps into her room and pulled forward the canvas from before. "We can paint some more." She brought out two paintbrushes and Jack took one. They sat down before the canvas and continued where they'd left off the day before. The tower was silent for several moments. Rapunzel glanced at Jack, whose eyes were intent on the painting. "Hey, Jack…" She spoke lightly and apparently, she must have startled him, for his hand jerked and a streak of red ran farther than intended.

Jack cringed, but then looked to Rapunzel, "Yeah?"

"You're really quiet today… Something on your mind?" She inquired.

"Uh…" Jack decided not to lie and admitted, "Yeah... But, but don't worry about it…"

"Are you sure? I'd like to help if I can." Rapunzel placed a hand on his shoulder, gazing at him and he bit his lip. Jack frowned slightly; there really wasn't any way she could.

"No, it's nothing…" Jack assured her, "… I promise," He offered her a grin and she relaxed a bit.

"Alright…" She said with a smile, returning to her painting. Jack did as well, propping his chin on his fist as he worked. Rapunzel looked to Jack's current picture and realized that at the bottom he was now leaving behind a trail of gold paint. Strokes of purple and pink appeared about it and Rapunzel immediately realized what it was. "Is that me?" Her lips turned up in a smile.

Jack nodded, smiling a little.

"Well, if I'm gonna be in the picture, then so should you." Rapunzel dipped her brush in the blue paint and spread it on the canvas beside Jack's image. He lifted his head slightly off of his chin and watched as he saw the little painting of himself appear by Rapunzel's side. When she was done, she sat up and he sat up as well, examining their work. Pascal scampered from his place on Rapunzel's shoulder down onto her lap. Rapunzel looked to Jack with a satisfied grin and he returned it, showing his teeth. Pascal eyed the two curiously, then glanced at the image of the two in the picture. He was broken out of his trance when Rapunzel announced, "You want a quick snack? If we're quiet Mother won't notice." Rapunzel stood from the bed.

"Sure." Jack stood up, setting down his paintbrush. Rapunzel held a finger to her lips as she tip-toed down the stairs. Jack nodded, though he doubted his presence would awaken Gothel. They walked into the kitchen and Rapunzel started up a fire to light the room. Jack set down his staff and sat down at the kitchen table and Pascal scampered onto the table after him. Rapunzel searched through the cabinets for a cooking utensil and after a moment came up with a frying pan. She held it up, swinging the pan in her grip and giggled quietly.

Jack cracked a smile; Rapunzel turned to the higher cabinets from something to cook, but his smile lingered. For that moment, he'd forgotten about being upset earlier. His friend's words and advice from earlier started to make a little more sense to him.

As Merida waited for Hiccup to arrive in DunBroch, droplets began to fall to the earth and it wasn't long until a light drizzle became a downpour. She hastily pulled on her hoodie to protect her already drenched red hair and ran under an awning near the castle for comfort. Merida hoped that Hiccup and Toothless weren't having any trouble flying. Finally, a black spot appeared in the gray sky descending toward the earth. Merida ran out, waving her hand wildly. Toothless and Hiccup landed on the wet grass a bit roughly and Hiccup pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes. He slid off of Toothless' back and came around to face him. "You okay, bud?" The dragon bobbed his head and then looked to Merida, who was quickly approaching.

"You didn't have too much trouble getting here, did you?" Merida spoke.

"No, were' fine- though for some reason, there was a bit of freezing rain." Hiccup replied.

"Hm… I wonder who caused that." She arched an eyebrow and Hiccup's eyes widened before he shook his head.

"Jack; I should've known." He returned back to Toothless and brought out a thick book from a satchel attached to the saddle.

"That lad… I don't think we'll be having dragon training tonight then, will we?" Merida spoke up.

"Well, kind of. I was actually planning on giving you the book of dragons first anyway." He handed her the book and Merida took it into her hands, examining the cover. She raised an eyebrow at him; he expected her to read through this whole thing first?

Merida exhaled, "Alright, Hiccup. Let's head inside." She walked toward the castle and Hiccup followed.

"Where can Toothless stay?"

"Uh… Under the awning. It should shield him from the rain good enough, I think."

Hiccup nodded and walked Toothless over to the awning Merida had been under. "You stay here for now, okay, Toothless? I'll be back in about an hour." Toothless nodded his head slightly, and then set himself into a resting position. Hiccup patted Toothless' forehead lightly before moving away and joining Merida. As the two teens became dark spots of figures, Toothless closed his eyes.

Merida led Hiccup into the castle, but as she did, the girl put a finger to her lip. "We've got to be quiet today, Hiccup. My parents are meeting with the lords- MacGuffin, Macintosh and Dingwall." Hiccup nodded his understanding and tiptoed silently up the back stairway of the structure. Suddenly, Merida whirled around and whispered, "Oh! Hiccup, there's a creaky step so-". But she'd spoken too late and the wood beneath Hiccup's foot creaked noisily enough for the sound to echo through a few hallways beyond them. Hiccup winced and lifted his foot, looking to Merida. She groaned softly, but whispered, "It's alright, Hiccup. But now…" Merida glanced toward the hallway where soon enough Queen Elinor appeared in.

"Merida, is that you?" She walked forward.

"Yes- and Hiccup." She moved to the side to reveal her friend and he waved sheepishly.

"Oh, Hiccup. It's wonderful to see you again." Elinor smiled.

"It's good to see you again, too, ma'am." Hiccup bowed down slightly. Elinor smiled once more, but then spoke,

"But, um, remember that I told you to be quiet, Merida?"

"Yes, mum. Hiccup accidentally stepped on the creaky step, is all. We promise to be silent as a mouse." Merida came forward, as did Hiccup.

"Alright, I trust that you will." Elinor clasped her hands together, "Now. I've got to get back to your father and the lords. Things are getting quite tense amongst them."

"Oh, no problem." Hiccup bobbed his head and Merida nodded slightly as well. Elinor then departed; a few moments after she'd gone out of sight, her voice was heard loudly reprimanding the men- who up to some kind of buffoonery.

"Why don't we head over to my room?" Merida looked to Hiccup, trying to smile despite the absurd noises.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Hiccup had a similar smile on his face to hers.

They managed to get Merida's room without any more mishaps and Hiccup set the thick book of dragons on the table. "Ok, so… This is the Dragon Manual." Hiccup sat down and Merida did as well beside him. Hiccup flipped the book open, "And the author is Bork the Bold who was just curious enough to start recording information on dragons. The books been around for generations- and even though it _was_ used to help kill dragons, it's still useful now to train them."

"So this was written when they were still considered dangerous?" Merida asked and Hiccup nodded. "How was he able to get real information on them, then?"

"Well, Bork wasn't exactly the most fortunate Viking. He ran into just about every dragon we know of and also nearly died each time he did."

"Ah, I see. But he must also have been smart, too, since he had the idea to write about dragons."

"Yeah, and classify them. Here, look." Hiccup pointed out the groups, "Stoker, Boulder, Fear, Sharp, Tidal, Mystery and Strike class." Merida leaned forward, beginning to show more interest.

"Which class is Toothless in?" Merida asked.

"He is in the Strike class. He can shoot blue fire bolts, he flies _really_ fast and at night time is practically invisible."

"Amazing…" Merida grinned and then reached out to turn the weathered pages of the book, "What about the others? What can they do?"

Happy that she was showing more interest in the book, Hiccup smiled, "Well, see for yourself." Merida bent over the pages, but soon realized that she could not read the text.

"Um, Hiccup? I can't read it. What language is this?"

"Oh, right. Sorry, that's the language we use in Berk. I'll read it." Merida almost disagreed, not wanting to settle for being read to by Hiccup. But as she thought more over it, the princess chose not to say anything; reading through the manual would just be a longer process should she try to decipher the script on her own. Merida nodded her head and Hiccup began.

"Starting with the Stoker class, which are intense fire-breathers, there's the Terrible Terror." Hiccup pointed at the image of the dragon.

"Aw, look at the wee thing." Merida marveled at the small dragon.

Hiccup chuckled, "Oh, trust me they're not all that innocent. Bork ran into a pack of these guys on a picnic and they ate _all_ his food- and his clothes." Merida looked to him with big eyes and a dumbfounded expression. "Well, they left his boxers," He quickly added. Merida still gave him that same look. Hiccup bit his lip, "Yeah, I should've left that out. Uh, moving on…"

"That's the Monstrous Nightmare." He pointed at the picture and Merida gazed at the intimidating picture with now awed eyes. "It's got a nasty habit of setting itself on fire."

"But doesn't it end up killing itself in the process?" Merida cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, no, see that's the interesting thing- it has no effect on them, it's more of a threat to the Nightmare's opponent." Hiccup explained. Merida bobbed her head in understanding.

Hiccup and Merida continued through the manual and got halfway through it before there was a knock at Merida's door. She stood and opened the wooden door to reveal the Queen again. "Merida, dear, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I need you in the throne room."

"What for?" Merida asked, cocking an eyebrow. Elinor glanced at Hiccup and spoke,

"I'll have to explain on the way. Hiccup?" The Queen approached the boy.

"Yeah?"

"I apologize again for disrupting your work, but I think now would be a good time for you to head home, lad." She looked to him apologetically.

"Oh, it's no problem." He closed the manual which caused Merida to frown slightly. Hiccup stood from the table and the three departed Merida's room.

"I'll go see him off, mum." Merida spoke and Elinor allowed her to do so. The two teens headed back down the halls and toward the back stairs.

"Whatever your parents are talking about must be pretty important." Hiccup spoke up.

"I know." Merida responded lightly. They descended down the wooden steps and Hiccup made sure to skip the creaking step. "Especially if you've got to leave now."

They left the castle and made their way to the awning where Toothless rested. "Huh, looks like the rain stopped."

"Yes, but it's still very damp." Merida added, her feet crunching down and spongy, wet grass.

"True…" He admitted as they came to stand before Toothless. He gently touched his dragon. "Hey, Toothless. It's time get home." Toothless didn't stir. "Toothless…"

"Toothless!" Merida called rather loudly and the dragon's head shot up so fast that Hiccup stumbled backward. Toothless looked around with a big eyes before he made out Hiccup and Merida's figures. He settled down and Hiccup turned to the red-haired girl. "You startled him."

"But I woke him up, didn't I?" Merida shrugged, smiling slightly.

Hiccup answered, "Yeah, but you've got to be gentle with dragons. Toothless is tame, but if you ever did that to a wild dragon you'd probably be a pile of ash right now."

"Oh… Thanks for the tip, Hiccup." Merida responded with a hint of sarcasm.

"Just some helpful advice for a friend." Hiccup smirked in response as he led from Toothless from beneath the awning. Merida scoffed, but grinning slightly. "But, really, the last thing I want is for you to get hurt handling dragons."

"Alright." Merida spoke, walking beside him. Hiccup mounted Toothless, but then turned back to look at his friend.

"'Night, Merida. Oh, and good luck with that meeting."

"Thanks." Merida said with an exhale; she'd forgotten about that conference for a moment. "Good night, you two." The princess acknowledged both the dragon and his rider. Hiccup nodded, smiling, and then patted Toothless. "Alright, let's go, bud." The two shot off into the sky, causing a gust of wind to hit Merida and she shielded herself slightly. When she lowered her arms, Hiccup and Toothless were already high up in the sky. Merida sighed again, gazing up and then turned around, heading back inside to join the conference.

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**So like I said, nothing huge happens, but something important I tried to add in this chapter is showing Jack realize that having Rapunzel's friendship is enough to make him happy for now. **

**That and Merida may have trouble with training dragons in the future (that being because of her impulsiveness and ...well, you'll see)**

**Read, Review, Follow, Favorite, Please!**


	9. Meeting 4 (The Four Come Together)

**CHAPTER UPDATE! This took a little over a month to post, sorry ^^'. But school is out and so I'll have lots of time to write from now until the end of vacation. I promised a big chapter, so I hope I followed through on that. Enjoy!**

* * *

The following day, in the class he shared with Merida, Hiccup took his seat. Merida hadn't shown up near his and Toothless' landing spot _again_. He thought it'd become a thing for her to stand by and wait for his arrival. Nor had Hiccup seen her in the halls. Was she absent again? He thought back to that meeting and the family business she'd mentioned before. Was that the issue? He resolved to sit and wait. At some point, Rapunzel entered with Flynn and she greeted him, but he was set on Merida's arrival. Finally, the door swung open and the red-haired girl entered, quickly heading over to her desk. The bell rang just as she plopped her belongings onto the desktop.

"Made it just in time." Hiccup sat up in his seat.

"Yeah…" She plopped in her seat, sounding a bit out of breath.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow curiously, "You sound tired. Where were you this time?"

"Um… Hiccup… remember that business I had to deal with last night?" Merida twisted around to face him in her seat.

"Uh-huh..?"

"It was a lot more serious than I thought. Mum didn't even want me to come to class today."

"Jeez… what happened?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Well, th-" Merida began, but was interrupted.

"Merida! I'd rather_ not_ be looking at the back of your head. Class has started." The professor spoke. A couple of students chuckled, commenting on her mass of red curls. Merida gave Hiccup one last glance before facing forward and scooting her chair forward. She ignored her classmates and spoke,

"Sorry, Professor Hobson."

The teacher nodded before, returning to the lesson. Hiccup exhaled, sitting back in his seat. He'd have to get his answer later.

Rapunzel and Flynn left Professor Hobson's classroom at the end of the period and entered the halls.

"Seriously, Punzie, has she ever thought of a haircut or at least a perm?" Flynn raised his hands. Rapunzel gave him a look.

"Maybe she likes it that way, Flynn."

"Why?"

"Ask her." The corners of her lips turned up and Rapunzel nodded her head behind the two. Flynn looked back and saw Merida with Hiccup making their way out of the room.

"I'll pass. Seems a little touchy and, uh, have you not seen her waltzing around with a bow and arrow before?" Flynn replied. Rapunzel shrugged, shaking her head. Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow and then his eyes widened when he felt a hit to his back. The Stabbington brothers, a couple of his friends, appeared beside him.

"Hey, Rider. Sloppy Joes today." One spoke up.

"Bad day to be wearing white, huh, pretty boy?" The other jabbed at his V-neck t-shirt.

"Ah, and that's where jackets come in." He reached for the school jacket stuffed into his bag, but it wasn't there. "Wha… where'd it-" Flynn gazed up to find a Stabbington brother holding up the jacket.

He chuckled, "Very funny. Now, hand it over." The brother only grinned and tossed it to the other.

"Up for a game of catch?" The one with his jacket asked. Flynn rolled his eyes as they ran off.

"Really, guys? What, are we five, again?" He called and turned to Rapunzel.

"I'll catch up to you later; I gotta get that jacket back. It cost $25." Flynn told her before running off. Rapunzel nodded in understanding. From there, she made her way through the halls on her own. The girl arrived at her locker and as she put in the combination, she heard a bit of a conversation going on nearby.

"Great, dad says Moscow's rained out tonight." A dark-haired girl spoke. Rapunzel's eyes widened and her hand froze. The boy beside her frowned,

"Aw, man, that sucks, Mavis. I know how much you wanted to go."

The girl sighed, "Well, there's always Stockholm." She began to smile.

"Yeah- wait, where is that?" The boy asked as the two departed. Rapunzel's bottom lip quivered and she turned to watch them as they walked away. Had the rain from yesterday made its way to Moscow? She finished putting in the lock and retrieved her books before closing the door shut lightly.

Rapunzel continued on when she heard her name being called. "Rapunzel!" She turned around to see Jack catching up to her. He was smiling. "You ready for Russia again?" Jack then frowned when he saw her face. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"It's rained out, Jack." She answered.

"What? You mean, Russia?" Jack asked in return. Rapunzel nodded, solemnly. "How do you know?"

"I heard a girl talk about it just now…" Rapunzel said.

Jack sighed, "Man… so, what do we do now?"

"I don't know… should we go to Sweden?" Rapunzel remembered that the girl had mentioned Stockholm.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Sweden? Why?" The blonde girl shrugged. Jack looked away, thinking for a moment. Then he stopped walking, "Hold on, Rapunzel." Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped walking, too. "I've got an idea. We'll go exploring. In the forest by your tower. That could still be fun, right?"

Rapunzel's eyes began to light up, "Yeah… and we won't have to worry about mother getting home before us since its close by."

"Exactly!" Jack gestured with staff.

"Alright, let's do it!" Rapunzel grinned; the final bell rang in the halls and students began pushing past her and Jack. "Oh, we better get to the cafeteria." She commented. Jack nodded and started walking again. "Mind if I walk with you?" She asked.

Of course he didn't. "No, sure." He smiled widely and she returned the gesture, and moved a bit closer to his side. "Hey, where's Flynn, by the way?" Jack asked.

"Oh, his friends were messing with him again and ran off with his jacket."

"Some friends…" The winter spirit snorted.

"Yeah, I know… I never really got why he hangs around with them…" Rapunzel spoke, thoughtfully.

"Hm… well, it depends, who are these friends of his?" Jack asked.

"The Stabbington brothers." Rapunzel enunciated on the "Stabbington" part.

"Whoa… the Stabbington brothers?! What's he doing hanging around with those guys?" He furrowed his brows.

"See? I mean, Flynn always says he's got a reputation to keep in check." Rapunzel replied.

"Well, there should be more to a guy than his reputation." Jack said.

"Hm…" Rapunzel sounded, nodding. The two approached the lunchroom and entered. Hiccup waved from his spot at his and Jack's table. Jack and Rapunzel waved back.

"You wanna sit with us today, Rapunzel? There's a spot open for you." Jack swung his staff over his shoulder.

"I'd love to, Jack, but-" She was cut off by Flynn, who entered the lunchroom with his jacket returned to him.

"Punzie! Sorry, I took so long, but… I got my jacket back." He held up the school jacket proudly. Jack looked up at him, unimpressed while Rapunzel smiled.

"Great, don't let those brothers push you around, Flynn."

"Push me around? No way, Rapunzel. We're just playing around." He assured her and then looked to Jack. "Hey, Frost."

"Hi." He uttered, managing a small smile. Flynn then turned to Rapunzel.

"Well, come on, I'll buy you lunch." He said, starting to guide her toward their table. Jack frowned again.

"Ok… Bye, Jack. See you tonight." She winked at him and he grinned, his spirits lifting. He winked back and she smiled once more before facing forward. The boy then turned on his heel and made his way over to Hiccup.

"I saw that, Jack." He casually spoke up. Jack cocked an eyebrow as he sat down. "You still sore about Flynn?"

"Oh, that. Hiccup, I didn't like that guy from the moment I saw him."

"I could tell." He nodded, lips curling up.

"But you know what? I thought about what you and Merida said yesterday. And you were right. So, I'm okay with being just friends with Rapunzel, for now." Jack said.

"There you go. Take things one step at a time." Hiccup nodded his head in approval. "Just like with me and Merida."

"Yeah, just like you and Merida… if showing her your pet dragon and letting her ride on it is one step at a time, then sure."

Hiccup just scowled at him.

Midway through lunch, Hiccup saw Merida leave the cafeteria, not sparing him a glance. After class, she'd explained to him what had happened when he'd left Castle DunBroch. Slight tensions between the clans once more that needed to be put to rest before things got out of hand. He wondered now, what was going on. "What's she in a rush for?" Jack turned slightly in his chair.

"I don't know… she's been having a lot of family business going on lately." Hiccup watched her go.

"Hm… That could mess with you two's project schedule…"

"It already did. Last night, I had to leave early because of it." Hiccup said.

"You think you should go after her, then?" Jack pointed at the cafeteria doors with his thumb.

"What for?"

"In case there's anything you two need to clear up before tonight." Jack replied.

"I guess, you've got a point… but I have no idea where she went." Hiccup had begun to stand up, but then paused. Jack admitted that was true. But then, Merida re-entered the cafeteria, gazing around before her eyes landed on Hiccup. She charged forward to his table.

"Welcome back, princess." Jack greeted.

"It's nice to see you again, too." She spoke with a hint of sarcasm. "Hiccup, there's something important I've got to tell you."

"Oh? Like what, Merida?" He sat back down.

"You can't come to my home, tonight."

"What? Why?" He sat up straighter in his seat, a look of concern on his face.

"There's too much going on between the lords and my parents." She replied.

Hiccup frowned, "Oh…" Was all he could think of to say. Jack watched on, noticing how this situation was beginning to play out as his Rapunzel's just before. Hiccup knit his eyebrows together, now deep in thought. And then he looked up.

"Wait a minute, Merida. Just because I can't come by your house, doesn't mean we can't have dragon training. We'll find somewhere else to go."

Merida's eyes lit up. "That's true, Hiccup. Where do we go, then?"

"I don't know yet, but… meet me by the castle and we'll figure it out then." Hiccup replied.

"Ok." Merida smiled, nodding. Hiccup smiled back and Jack did so as well. "Alright, well, I'll see you then, Hiccup." She then turned on her heel with a wave of her hand to the boys and walked off. Hiccup turned to Jack.

"Nice save." Jack complimented the boy. Hiccup merely bobbed his head.

That evening, Jack made his way over to Rapunzel's tower, feeling pretty excited. He noticed her mother departing the secret clearing; Jack had arrived just on time. He landed on her windowsill and called, "Rapunzel!"

She emerged from the kitchen, carrying her frying pan again and bag. "Jack, hey!" He climbed into the tower and took a couple of steps inside.

"You ready to go, Rapunzel?"

She nodded, "Yeah; I've got my frying pan _and _Flynn's let me borrow his satchel, so I packed snacks." Rapunzel opened it up to reveal a batch of cookies. Jack grinned.

"Great." He then noticed Pascal scampering up onto Rapunzel's shoulder. "How about you, Pascal? " He asked. The chameleon bobbed his head and chirped.

"Ok, then, let's go." He headed back to the window. Rapunzel and Pascal shared a look of excitement before joining him. Jack jumped out of the tower and by the time the other two had arrived at the window, he was on the ground. "Come on." He gestured down. Rapunzel nodded and wrapped her hair around a hook protruding from the tower; Pascal wrapped a strand of her hair around his waist to keep from falling. She tip-toed forward, took a deep breath and then jumped.

Jack watched as Rapunzel plummeted to the ground, her long hair whipping about in the wind. Just before she hit the ground, Rapunzel halted herself. "W-whoa…" She looked up at Jack sheepishly, dangling around just above the grass. Rapunzel carefully let her feet touch the ground, letting go of her hair. Pascal untied the hair-made belt, a bit dizzy and she kept him in place. Rapunzel tugged at her hair and it came off of the hook falling to the earth. She quickly side-stepped before the huge pile could land on top of her. Jack raised his eyebrows, watching with amazement.

"Okay…" She panted slightly, tucking back a wave of her hair. "Where to?"

"Well, first, we need to get out of this rock pit." Jack answered.

"Right… If we go through that cave and past the curtain of plants, we'll be let out into the forest." Rapunzel pointed in its direction. Jack followed her finger-point and nodded. The two made their way out.

A little ways past the cave was a small clearing and from there, the darkening sky was clear in sight. Rapunzel noticed there was a full moon out. "The moon looks so big tonight." She spoke.

"Yeah?" Jack leaned over to her, gazing up.

"I wonder why…" Rapunzel said.

"Hm…" Jack nodded, giving the moon, or rather, the moon in it, a questioning look. Suddenly, the two heard a rustling noise in the bushes.

Merida waited by the same awning as before, her bow and arrows slung over her back. She'd managed to slip away from the castle and now couldn't wait for Hiccup to arrive. At some point, the boy and his dragon appeared above the trees. Merida ran out as the two landed by the forest. "Hiccup." She spoke, she came to a stop.

"Hey." He began to slip off of Toothless' back.

"Wait, don't move!" She held up her hands and Hiccup, frowning slid back onto the saddle. "I'm coming up, too." She spoke.

"Uh… Merida, wait… why?" Hiccup asked, though he did scoot forward to give her room. Merida wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Let's find someplace far from here today, Hiccup." She spoke firmly.

"Why?" He asked again.

Merida sighed, "It's too tense in there. I just want to get away from it for a while."

"Don't they need you there?"

"No." Merida said mechanically. Hiccup looked at her over his shoulder but then bent down to Toothless.

"Alright, bud. Fly us out of here." Toothless nodded and began to set off.

The two flew through the air. Merida was pretty silent. "Did something happen?" Hiccup finally asked. He turned to his friend. Merida looked down.

"It's just like I told you, Hiccup. Family business. It's only been a day and I'm already sick of it."

"Oh…"

"I wanted to help… like last night… but Dad said I should stay out of it…. That it doesn't concern me." Merida responded.

"Huh… well, then don't worry about it right now."

"That's what I'm trying to do." Merida groaned.

"So, then sit back and enjoy the ride. I'll pick some place for us to land and the only thing you'll need to worry about is teaching Toothless to heel." Hiccup answered.

Sometime later, Hiccup stopped Toothless and the three hovered just above the treetops of the forest. "Down there, Toothless." He pointed near a small clearing. Toothless dove down rather quickly, rustling the leaves of the trees as they landed. Merida hopped off and Hiccup followed suit. Her hair was flyaway and she shook it out of her face. Hiccup looked to her, "You wanna tie that back?"

"I like it just how it is." She replied, blowing a curl out of her eyes. Hiccup chuckled as they group began to walk forward.

"Alright." He then noticed the bow and arrows she carried. "Um… I don't think you'll be needing that-" He began before hearing a rustling noise in the bushes. Merida stiffened, pulling out an arrow and positioning it in her bow. And then they caught sight of Jack and Rapunzel a couple feet away from them. Rapunzel held up her frying pan, looking a bit shaken. And then she realized it was Hiccup and Merida. "Jack?" Hiccup uttered. Merida lowered her bow.

"Hiccup?" Jack said. Rapunzel frowned in confusion and looked to Jack; her smirked slightly at her and she gave him a defensive look. But she lowered her frying pan. "Hey, buddy. What are you doing out here?" He began to walk forward and Rapunzel followed.

"Just looking for a place to teach Merida how to train dragons." Hiccup responded. "You?"

"Me and Rapunzel were just doing a little exploring."

"I'm sorry, but did you just say dragons?" Rapunzel came up and asked. Hiccup's eyes widened.

"Oh, that's right." He scratched at the back of his head nervously. "U-uh… Rapunzel… I, uh, I happen to…"

Merida interrupted, "Hiccup has a pet dragon." She gestured to Toothless who moved further into the clearing. Rapunzel gasped and so did Pascal on her shoulder

"Don't worry, Rapunzel, he's tame." Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. Toothless gazed at Rapunzel calmly. The girl calmly relaxed.

"Dragons… they're real?" She looked at each of the teens around her. They all nodded. She was dumbfounded for a moment, but then gazed up at Toothless. Slowly, she came up. "Can I… can I pet him?"

"Sure. But you have to be gentle." Hiccup agreed. Rapunzel bobbed her and very carefully placed a hand on Toothless' forehead.

"Ah, his skin's so smooth." She marveled, moving her hand a bit. "It's a boy, right?" Hiccup nodded. "What's his name?"

"Toothless."

"Toothless…?" She muttered before the dragon opened his mouth some. "No teeth? Oh, I see." Toothless then began to nudge slightly at her satchel. "Hm?" He sniffed at the air. Rapunzel held her satchel away. "No, no, boy."

"What do you have in there?" Merida asked.

"Cookies." She answered.

"Oh… Toothless, are you hungry." Hiccup placed a hand on him. Toothless turned to him, a needy look on his face. "Alright… Rapunzel, do you mind if we all settle down for a snack."

"Uh… sure. Is that okay with you, Jack?" He shrugged.

"Yeah." Rapunzel turned back to Hiccup and nodded.

The group of four settled down in the clearing. "It's getting dark. We ought to make a fire for some light." Merida spoke up and gathered some sticks.

"I'll help." Rapunzel piped up and joined her. Jack and Hiccup stayed behind with Toothless. Merida noticed Pascal and said,

"What's that on your shoulder?"

"Pascal. He's a chameleon." She explained.

"Why do you have a chameleon?"

"He's my friend." Rapunzel responded. Merida raised an eyebrow, but did not ask any more about it. Pascal seemed to be an equivalent to Angus as he was with Merida. The two began gathering sticks for the fire. "So… Hiccup said you were about to _train_ that dragon?"

"Aye. Where Hiccup lives, they train and ride dragons." Merida said. "So, I wanted to learn."

"Ride dragons? Like a horse?" Rapunzel gawked.

"Yes, well, kind of." Merida responded before bending down again to pick up a stick.

"Wow… That's really cool…" Rapunzel gathered the last few sticks they needed. They returned to the clearing.

Hiccup and Jack sat on the grass with Toothless, chatting. Rapunzel raised an eyebrow and Merida asked, "What are you lads talking about?"

"Huh? Nothing." Hiccup cleared his throat noisily. "Nothing." Jack nodded scratching at his head and glancing at the ground. Merida and Rapunzel shared a look before setting down the sticks before them. Rapunzel gathered two spare sticks and began to rub them together.

"Let's see if I can get a spark." She said. But Toothless opened his mouth and a shot of fire blasted out and onto the pile of wood. Rapunzel jumped slightly and gazed at the crackling campfire with wide eyes. "Or you can do that." She pointed at it. Jack chuckled alongside Merida while Hiccup just smiled. Rapunzel patted Toothless before sitting down on the grass beside Jack. She pulled off Flynn's satchel and opened it, revealing the cookies.

Merida's eyes lit up and Toothless' did as well. His retractable teeth shot out as he dove for the satchel. "Hey!" Rapunzel shook her head, closing it for a moment. Toothless frowned. "We all share." She said, before opening it again. Rapunzel began to hand pass around snacks to the others and they gladly accepted them. She held out two for Toothless and he tentatively grabbed them with his teeth. "He has retractable teeth, Hiccup?" Rapunzel turned to him.

"Yeah. I'm not quite sure why, but it's a good trait to have." Hiccup answered. Rapunzel agreed.

"I wouldn't mind having teeth like that."

Jack snickered, "You with retractable teeth, Rapunzel? Now that'd be a sight to see." Rapunzel rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. Merida smiled slightly before turning to Hiccup,

"So, are we still having dragon training, tonight?"

"Mm… I don't know it's getting really late…" Hiccup trailed off when suddenly Toothless went bounding off. Rapunzel tumbled over onto Jack and he helped her back upright. The four all gaped before Hiccup stood to his feet. "Toothless?!" Trying to move so fast, he stumbled a little on his prosthetic leg.

"Hiccup!" Merida stood as well, but he managed to stay balanced.

"Wait, where'd Pascal go?" Rapunzel looked around. "He… he was just with me! Right before Toothless ran off."

"Maybe he disappeared and Toothless gave chase." Jack theorized. Hiccup was already bounding off and Merida followed. "Come on." He gestured for her to follow and ran after the first two.

Hiccup lost track of where Toothless had gone. He looked from left to right and Merida bumped into him. "Where did he go?" She asked.

"I… I don't know… Toothless!" He called. There was a slight noise coming from up ahead and he rushed forward. And then the ground disappeared in front of him.

"Hiccup!" Merida screamed and came forward looking over the edge of what they'd been on- a cliff.

"I'm alright! I'm alright, Merida!" He shouted, dangling from a jagged tree branch. Merida sighed in relief, but frowned.

"You can't hang on forever! Oh… where… where are the others?" She moved about in a circle, grabbing at her hair nervously.

"Gah!" Hiccup groaned. She looked over the edge again worriedly. "Scratch! Just a scratch!" He assured her.

"I'm going to get help." Merida whirled around to find that Jack and Rapunzel were quickly approaching.

"Where's Hiccup?" Jack looked around. Merida gestured downward.

"What?" He cried and ran forward to find Hiccup hanging onto the tree branch for dear life. He gasped. "Don't worry, Hiccup. We're gonna get you down from there." He said.

Hiccup nodded. Rapunzel appeared over the edge. "Hold on, I've got an idea." She began to gather her hair. Hiccup watched questioningly. The other two caught on though, and began gathering her hair as well to speed up the process. Rapunzel then lowered a lock of her hair down to Hiccup. "Grab on." She called. He tried to reach up and hold on to the branch with his other hand- but it'd been scratched and the pressure caused him to yelp. He let go of the branch and almost fell.

"Hiccup!" The three shouted but he managed to grab her hair and they all exhaled before slowly lifting him up. When he reached the edge of the cliff he climbed up, out of breath and rolled onto his back. Hiccup slowly sat up.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Jack asked kneeling down beside him. Merida latched onto his arm, worried.

"I'm fine." He told Jack before turning to Merida. "Really." Merida nodded, but was still a little shaken. Toothless arrived on the scene with Pascal dangling from his mouth in defeat.

"Pascal!" Rapunzel cried and ran up. "Toothless, drop him." She said. Toothless opened his mouth and Pascal landed into her hands. "Good boy." She patted his muzzle and then addressed the chameleon. "Why did you run off, Pascal?" He held up a small bushel of forest berries held to his tail. "Oh, for new paint! Thank you." She took it from him and placed it in her hoodie pocket. "Just don't run off again without telling me, okay? Otherwise you could cause a lot of trouble." Pascal nodded solemnly.

Hiccup stood to his feet and made his way over to Toothless. "Toothless… what got into you, buddy?" He asked, a bit out of breath.

"My chameleon, Pascal went off to get me berries for paint and Toothless chased him." She explained. "I already gave him a talking to." She added. The others began to settle down.

"Good. Then let's back to the clearing." Jack spoke, leaning on his staff.

Hiccup, Toothless and Merida arrived by the fire first and sat down. As his hands touched the grass, he flinched, "Ah!"

Merida leaned over, "What is it?"

"It's just that scratch from earlier." He held it his hand out for her to see. Merida inhaled lightly.

"Hiccup, that's no mere scratch. It's a pretty deep cut! It needs to be treated." Merida spoke. Jack and Rapunzel walked up to the campfire, hearing their conversation. Jack looked to Rapunzel and nodded toward the others. Rapunzel fumbled with a strand of her hair nervously, but bobbed her head after a moment. She came forward. "Um, guys…? I think I can help."

The four teens, Pascal and Toothless set themselves onto the grass; Rapunzel carefully wrapped her hair around Hiccup's hand. He looked at Merida in confusion and she gave a shrug. He looked to Jack and he gestured for Hiccup to look back to his hand.

"Okay." Rapunzel withdrew her hands and placed them in her lap. "Now, before I do this, I have to ask you not to… um… you know, freak out."

"Why would we freak out?" Merida asked.

"Yeah, why would we-" Hiccup began, a little concerned.

"You'll see." Jack said, a knowing smile on his lips. Rapunzel took a deep breath, closing her eyes, before opening her mouth to sing,

"Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fate's design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine…"

As she sang, her hair began to glow just as Jack had seen before. Only up close, it was much more bright. Merida's eyes widened and a slight smile of amazement crossed her face. Toothless had a sideways grin on his face, eyes big with wonder. Hiccup gazed around, eyeing the glowing locks that surrounded the group. Soon the hair on his hand began to glow as well and he felt a tingling sensation there. He looked to Jack who didn't at all look surprised, the corners of his lips turned up. Hiccup even glanced at Pascal, who just bobbed his head calmly. When the song ended, Rapunzel's hair returned to its normal state and she opened her eyes.

Rapunzel looked to Merida and Hiccup. "Unwrap the hair, Hiccup." Merida said and he did so tentatively. Rapunzel bit her lip while Jack waited to see his friend's reaction. The hair fell away and he gawked when he saw his hand. The cut was completely gone- even the slightest trace of it had disappeared. Merida gasped and Hiccup opened his mouth to yelp but Rapunzel held up her hands. "Please don't freak out, you guys!" Merida blinked her eyes blankly while Hiccup swallowed down a scream.

"H-how… how did you do that?" Merida asked.

"I… I was born with magical hair that glows when I sing. And heals old age…. And sickness… and injuries." She winced.

"That's so…" Hiccup started.

"Amazing! Rapunzel, this amazing! You've… you've gotta tell people about this!" Merida exclaimed.

"No! It has to be kept secret." Rapunzel spoke worriedly.

"Why? You could make the old young again… treat people's wounds… cure cancer, even!" Merida cried.

"Well, think about what would happen if everyone found out there was a way to stay young and healthy forever. Imagine what would happen to Rapunzel." Jack spoke up.

Merida calmed down, letting his words sink in. "Oh…"

"Is that why your hair is so long?" Hiccup spoke up. Rapunzel nodded.

"If I cut it, it'll lose its power and turn brown." She showed the same short lock of hair that Jack had seen. The two understood.

"And how is it that Jack already seems to know this?" Hiccup asked.

"The first time I came by her tower, I saw her use it with her mom." Jack said.

"Tower?" Merida raised an eyebrow.

"Mother told me when I was a baby, people tried to cut my hair, to use it for themselves." She played with her hair. "A gift like this has to be protected. So… she raised me in a tower where no one could easily find me." Rapunzel explained.

"Well, that's the wrong way to go about it." Merida frowned.

"But, mother allowed me to at least go to school. And so far, you guys are the only ones who know about my secret." She said. Their eyes widened for a moment, but then it started to make sense. Their school was an interesting one; a place for kids that the dean noticed had something special in them. Rapunzel's hair wasn't the big surprise when she'd arrived on her first day.

Merida still found something iffy about Rapunzel's mother, as did Hiccup. But the two said nothing more on that matter. "You two promise not to tell anyone about this, right?" She asked.

Hiccup and Merida looked to each other before turning back to Rapunzel nodding. She looked reassured and looked to Jack who smiled at her. She sighed in relief and smoothed back her hair before announcing, "Why don't we finish up these cookies and then head home. It's getting late." They all agreed and began to eat, starting up a new conversation.

Hiccup and Merida waved goodbye as they hopped back onto Toothless' back. "See you, Jack. Rapunzel." The called in slight unison.

"Yeah, see you." Jack waved and Rapunzel called,

"Bye. It was nice meeting you, Toothless."

The dragon grinned toothlessly before getting ready to take off. Jack and Rapunzel watched as Toothless flapped his wings, reaching into the sky and flying off. Rapunzel watched in awe and Jack with a grin before turning to Rapunzel, "Let's go home."

She approved and gathered her hair before he lifted her up like before, heading toward the tower.

Rapunzel stepped into the tower which was still vacant. Mother had not gotten home yet. "That was quite the adventure we had, today."

"Yup. It was fun." Jack agreed. "Well, I mean, not including the part where one of us almost died." He cringed slightly, raising his eyebrows and eyes glancing sideways.

"Right, right." She pushed her hair back. "It was all pretty exciting, though. Like, trained dragons you can ride? Who knew, right?"

"I did." Jack spoke up in a smart-alecky way. Rapunzel gave him a look. "Alright. But don't tell anyone about Toothless, okay? Hiccup's final presentation for that animation project is going to be all about dragons. Like your hair, Hiccup hasn't told anyone at school about them."

"Oh… okay. I won't." She said before hearing a voice from down below.

"Rapunzel- Oh, you're already there! Let down your hair, my flower!" Mother Gothel sang. Jack frowned slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rapunzel." He said before jumping off the window sill. She nodded and watched him off.

"Okay, mother!" She shouted and hung her hair on the rod above her for the second time that day.

Her mother and she had eaten dinner and soon, Rapunzel was in her bedroom preparing for bed. Just before she was about to pull off her hoodie, she remembered the berries in its pocket. "Hm…" She looked to the large canvas in the corner of the room. "I'll think I'll use those berries you brought me, Pascal." Rapunzel pulled them out and grabbed the rest of her paint set.

She knelt down before the canvas and began crushing the berries into an empty bowl until they'd become perfect to paint with. And then she set to work, bringing the rest of her paint supplies over. Carefully, with a paint brush, she started out a head with brown hair and another with a mop of red right beside the images of her and Jack.

* * *

**How was it? Did you like it? If so, follow, favorite, and review!**


	10. Meeting 5

**New Chapter!**

**I'm not ****_as _****happy with some of the parts in the chapter as my others, but I think it came together alright. I hope you guys like it :D**

* * *

For once, Merida arrived at school on time. Hiccup and Toothless landed at their normal spot and the unsuspecting boy dismounted from his dragon. "Alright, Toothless, I'll see you in a couple of hours." Toothless didn't seem to be paying attention to him, though. The dragon was looking forward with wide eyes. "What is it-Whoa!" Hiccup jumped, startled when he found Merida approaching the two.

"I'm back!" She smiled cheekily. Hiccup couldn't help but grin and walked forward.

"Merida! Hey!" Hiccup then cocked an eyebrow. "How come you're, uh, here?"

"Well, my dad insists I stay out of this whole kerfuffle with the lords and my mum now agrees. Says she doesn't want the mess to interfere with my education." Merida rolled her eyes. "Therefore, I'm here." She gestured to her eyes.

"Oh… well, still, it's good that you're back, Merida." Hiccup replied.

"I s'pose." Merida shrugged and bent down to greet Toothless. "Good morning, Toothless." The dragon nudged her back affectionately. Hiccup patted Toothless before heading up the hill and Merida followed. "By the way, we _are_ training, tonight, right, Hiccup?"

"Hopefully. I know there's been a lot of stuff getting in the way." Hiccup answered sheepishly.

"That's for sure. Though, I do admit, last night was fun." Merida said.

"Yeah, minus yet another of my near death experiences." Hiccup replied.

"Oh, yes, we can't forget about that." Merida glanced down at his prosthetic leg, remembering that she'd asked about that before. "Hiccup, what _did_ happen to your leg?"

Hiccup looked down, "Right… Back at Berk, uh, there was this huge dragon, Red Death. It controlled all the dragons and was the reason why they pillaged our village. If they didn't bring enough food back to the dragon nest, they'd be eaten themselves."

"So it was like a bee's hive, only much worse, of course."

"Yeah. So… So, we fought it back and Toothless almost beat it- Toothless shot a fire bolt down its throat and it caught fire. We nearly escaped, but I was knocked off and fell into the explosion. But he caught me. I mean… most of me…"

"Oh," Merida's eyes widened. "It sounds like you were very brave back there, though."

"Well, I mean, I guess, I was just…" Hiccup scratched at the back of his head.

Merida chuckled, nudging him. "Don't be so modest."

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders, "Heh, yeah, alright…"

As Flynn left to buy breakfast, Rapunzel slipped into the library logging onto one of the PCs. "Alright, let's check out tonight's weather…" She muttered to herself. Entering a search on Russia's forecast, she sighed in relief. The temperature was mild and the image of stars appeared. As she logged off, Flynn appeared with a doughnut and latte.

Heading to first period, she bumped into Jack. "Jack!" She called, and ran up, leaving Flynn to catch up.

"Punzie, wait!" He came to a halt beside her when Rapunzel excitedly told Jack that Russia had clear skies that night. _Russia? What is she talking about? _Flynn furrowed his eyebrows together. "Hold on, what's going on here?"

Jack looked up to him, "Oh, right, Rapunzel's been wanting me to take her to Russia for a couple days now." Flynn was even more confused now.

"Why are you taking her to Russia, exactly?" He could swear he saw the slightest trace of a smirk on Jack's face. Flynn turned to Rapunzel.

"I just wanted to go sight-seeing a little while Mother is gone. You know how she is." Rapunzel quickly answered.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, uptight doesn't even begin to describe her." Flynn answered. Jack chuckled at this, but then mentally chastised himself, clearing his throat.

"Hey, she does mean well." Rapunzel answered sensitively. Flynn and Jack both masked a dubious look, and the former finally sighed.

"Okay, Punzie. Listen, you take good care of my girlfriend, alright, Frost?" He turned back to face Jack, a hint of sternness in his voice.

"Sure, no problem." Jack replied casually, holding up his hands in a slightly defensive stance. Flynn nodded and then twisted back to Rapunzel.

"I gotta go to class, I'll see you later, Rapunzel." He bent over, placing a quick kiss on her lips before heading off. Jack's face fell and he looked away, the arm holding his staff over his shoulder falling to his side. Rapunzel turned to Jack and smiled,

"I'll see you tonight, Jack." She waved before walking off as well.

"See you." Jack answered, trying to smile. Hiccup walked up to him then.

"Hey, Jack. The bell will ring any minute, come on."

"Hiccup. Of course, wouldn't want to the Professor angry at you again." He replied with sarcasm.

"Seriously, bud. Another trip to the dean's office is the last thing you need." Jack managed to keep up. "Hey, what's the matter, anyway? You seem upset."

"Nothing, really, just, being friend-zoned sucks."

At lunch, Hiccup and Jack sat down, unwrapping their grilled cheese sandwiches. Hiccup bit into his before saying, "Jack, I thought you said you were okay with being Rapunzel's friend."

"I know, I know I did. It's hard though, Hiccup. Seeing her in the halls with him, watching them hold hands and kiss…" Jack grimaced at the memory.

Hiccup exhaled, "Sounds rough, Jack, but don't let it get to you. Okay, don't focus on the fact that Flynn's there, just focus on Rapunzel."

"You're right, Hiccup." Jack gave him that, biting into his own sandwich. He swallowed and gestured behind Hiccup. "Hey, look who's here- again."

Merida rolled her eyes and then glanced down to Hiccup who turned around, "Do you boys mind if I sit here today?"

"Of course not, sure, sit down." Hiccup pulled back a chair.

"Thanks." Merida set down her tray and things, scooting up in her chair.

"Um… is there something you need to tell me?" Hiccup asked.

"No." Merida shook her head. "I just want to eat lunch here." Hiccup's eyes widened.

Merida saw and sighed, "The Lord's sons are being uncivil today. We promised we wouldn't let our parents fights get in the way of our own lives. But Wee Dingwall's being rather fussy today. There's sure to be a brawl amongst the lads any moment now."

"Wait, isn't that the scrawny one with the ridiculous overbite?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Don't underestimate him, though. He's got a sharp bite, you know." Merida pointed out as she uncapped her drink. Jack snickered to himself.

"I can imagine."

Merida gave him a look before turning back to her food, "How's things with Rapunzel?"

Jack swallowed down his food, raising an eyebrow, "Um, fine, I guess. Why?"

"He's  
actually decided to take things slow. Be her friend first before things go any further." Hiccup added.

"Oh? Good for you, Jack. She seems nice, judging by last night." Merida replied.

Jack agreed, though half-heartedly, "Yeah, she is."

"Where is that lass anyway?" Merida turned around, looking about the cafeteria.

"Over there." Hiccup twisted around as well. Rapunzel sat beside Flynn amongst other lively students that filled the table.

"Ah…" Merida exhaled. "Maybe you should invite her to join us, Jack." She whirled back around.

"I already tried, she sticks with Flynn at lunch." Jack replied. Merida shrugged and glanced back, before facing forward once more, as did Hiccup.

"So, about dragon training, Hiccup, are there any tips you can give me beforehand?"

Flynn chuckled loudly at a joke one of the Stabbington brothers cracked and Rapunzel smiled, though she found the joke a little offensive. "Oh, man… Hey, Rapunzel, I'm gonna dump my tray real quick. Are you done with yours?"

"Oh, sure." Rapunzel nodded, offering it to him. He headed over to the garbage can and her eyes followed him, her eyes then catching sight of Jack's table. Hiccup and Merida sat there as well, and seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite being slightly detached from the rest of the room. Rapunzel glanced back at the students around her, none of them paid her much attention. In fact, the only reason she was there was because of Flynn. Looking back to the three, she thought back to how much fun she'd had last night with them. A sense of longing built up inside of her, and she did consider approaching them. After all, she remembered that Jack had offered her a seat before. But Flynn returned and so she stayed seated. Suddenly there was a high-pitched scream coming from a table nearby. One of the Scottish boys had his teeth latched onto another's arm.

Everything was quiet in the lunch room for a moment. "Told you." Merida's voice piped up in that second. And then the cafeteria roared up with commotion.

That afternoon, Jack wandered around, killing time until he met up with Rapunzel. Winter was on the verge of arrival, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. He tapped at the telephone wires when he gazed up and in the distance, saw waves of light in the sky. "Huh…" It was the Guardian's signal. "Oh, right…" Every month there was a meeting at Santa- or rather, North's Workshop. The purpose was to discuss any important matters at the moment, but most of the time it was more of a monthly check-up- to see if the Guardians were doing their jobs right. "Let's hope it's quick this time…" Jack ran a little ways across the wires before jumping up into the air and heading to the North Pole.

Jack arrived before the huge workshop, landing at the front doorstep, which happened to rest on the very edge of the icy mountain. "Knock, knock." He called, rapping his knuckles on the wood. After a moment, the door opened revealing the big man himself.

"Jack! Welcome back!" He smiled widely, patting his shoulder and guiding him inside.

"Nice to see you, North." Jack replied, then waving at the yetis casually. "You're looking well, Phil." The yeti squinted his eyes at him suspiciously. The two headed to the Globe Room where the rest of the Guardians were. The Tooth Fairy was first to greet him.

"Hi, Jack! It's good to see you- and your teeth!" She dove forward and he smiled nonchalantly. "Oh! There they are!" She grinned widely as her mini fairies joined her.

"Hey, Tooth. Girls." He gestured to the fairies and a few of them swooned. Baby Tooth pushed past them and squeaked a greeting. "Baby Tooth, hi." He spoke as the fairy took a seat on his shoulder. The Sandman came up, saluting the winter spirit. "Sandy! Hey!"

The Easter Bunny came forward, trying to look serious. Jack smirked, "Bunny, how've you been?"

"Good, mate. How about yourself?"

"Great, great." He turned back to North. "So, what's going on tonight, North?"

"The usual, Jack. Nothing out of the ordinary." North answered.

"Really? So is the meeting gonna be short?" He blurted.

"Um, maybe. Why? In a hurry, Jack?" North asked.

"Got a hot date?" Bunny supplied, smirking. Jack failed to hide his blush and scowled in embarrassment.

"Look, I was paired up with one of my classmates at school for a project, and I kind of need to meet her on time."

"Ah, I see. Then, yes, we will make this short." North nodded as the Guardians all huddled around the globe.

The meeting went as Jack expected. Tooth reported that tooth collecting was going great, Sandy was still blessing children with sweet dreams- as for North and Bunny, toy production and egg coloring were running at an all-time high. Finally, Jack assured his comrades that the children were doing fine and a fun-filled winter was on the way. And just like that the meeting was wrapped up. "Alright, great meeting, you guys, I'll see you next month a-." He walked backwards a couple of paces, but was halted.

"Wait, can you tell us about her?" Tooth asked.

"Huh?"

"You're classmate. The one you're in such a bloody rush to see." Bunny came forward. Sandy looked equally interested.

"Oh, I don't know, I mean…" He chuckled, glancing at Baby Tooth.

"Yes. Tell us, Jack. We like to hear about your school life." North interrupted. Even Baby Tooth pouted.

Jack sighed, "Alright… her name's Rapunzel."

"Boot' zdah-roh-vah." North said.

"Uh… I didn't sneeze." Jack knit his eyebrows together.

"Oh."

"What's she like?" Tooth asked curiously.

"Well, Rapunzel's probably one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, she's got the brightest smile and she's really creative, there are huge paintings all over her house-" Halfway through, he noticed all of the Guardians staring at him knowingly. His cheeks heated up as he quickly shut his mouth.

"Aw, the boy's got a crush." Bunny snickered to North. Jack rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"It's alright, Jack. Is perfectly normal for a boy your age to be interested in girls." North smiled encouragingly.

This only made him flush redder, "Okay, alright, guys, that's enough."

"I think it's sweet, Jack." Tooth smiled. She was a little infatuated with the winter spirit herself, but seeing him like this was rather cute. And she always tried to be supportive.

"Thanks, Tooth." He offered as Baby Tooth fluttered off his shoulder. Jack was about to leave before there was a slight ringing sound coming from the globe. One of the lights was blinking and this meant there was a child in need somewhere. Jack turned back and they all examined the globe. It was located in the United States, up north. Upon further inspection, they found the child in Burgess. It was Pippa. "That's one of Jamie's friends." Jack spoke up.

The others shared a glance, as Jack thought to himself. He sighed, noticing the darkened sky outside, "I'm gonna go help her."

The image of a clock appeared above Sandy's head and he looked to Jack questioningly. "Don't worry. I've still got time." Jack assured the man, before running off.

"Good luck!" North called after him.

It was late, probably past her bedtime, but Pippa was still lying in her bed awake. Downstairs, the loud, angry voices of her two parents could be heard, despite her closed door. What they were saying scared her, especially when her mother brought up the word 'divorce'. Pippa huddled under her covers, trying to hold tears back. Then she heard a tapping at her window. Tentatively, Pippa pulled off the covers and peeked at her window. Jack was perched there, smiling and waving. Pippa wiped at her eyes, the corners of her lips turning up in surprise. "Jack Frost!"

She tossed away her covers and ran up to her window, opening it up. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you were in trouble, so I came by to visit." Jack answered.

"Really?" Pippa asked and he nodded, hopping down into her room. The little girl wiped at her eyes again.

"What's wrong, Pippa?" He kneeled down before her. Her father shouted loudly from downstairs followed by a banging sound.

"Oh." Jack looked to the door and Pippa gazed down at the carpet. She sniffled, "They've been mad at each other a lot, my parents. And I… I get scared that something really bad is gonna happen." Pippa sniffled.

Jack frowned, but then looked to Pippa and lifted her chin, "Hey, it's gonna be okay, Pippa."

"How?" Pippa met his gaze.

Jack thought for a moment, "I'll show you." He grinned.

"You know, winter's coming really soon. But it wouldn't hurt to have a good time in the snow, right now." He grabbed her hand, and before she knew it, Pippa had been pulled out of her window.

It began to snow over the town of Burgess as Jack cheered Pippa up with snowflakes and a good snowball fight. Pippa was soon smiling and laughing, and for a moment, forgot her troubles. He returned Pippa to her room a little while later and the two noticed that they house had grown silent. Pippa climbed into bed. "See, we had a great time out there, didn't we?"

"Yeah, I feel a lot better, now." Pippa admitted. Jack smiled, standing beside her.

"Good. Don't focus on all the bad that's happening, okay? Just have a little bit of fun, instead." Jack said, thinking back to Hiccup's earlier advice. Stop focusing on the bad and more on the good. Which reminded him, Jack looked to Pippa's alarm clock. It was close to 8:30. Rapunzel was waiting for him. "Oh, man, I gotta go."

"Why?" Pippa arched an eyebrow.

"There's someone else out there who needs me, now." Jack answered, before he turned and hopped up onto her windowsill. Pippa waved him goodbye as he flew off into the sky.

By the time Jack arrived at her tower, Rapunzel had successfully plaited her to five feet. And furthermore, her mother was now fast asleep. "Jack, I'm ready!" She chirped, with Pascal on her shoulder and a frying pan under her arm.

"Great. Let's go!" He reached out for her hand and for the second time that night yanked someone out of her window.

As they flew on, Rapunzel felt excitement build up inside of her again. St. Basil's Cathedral peaked out in the distance and she called, "There it is!" Pascal squeaked out happily from her shoulder and she smiled at him. This time, the group landed by a nearby park and Rapunzel dropped down, dusting herself off. "So, what should we do first?" Rapunzel looked around.

"How about we check out the city a little." Jack swung his staff over his shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan." Rapunzel was already a few paces before him. Jack quickly caught up. Rapunzel walked out onto the sidewalk and was rendered speechless. Overwhelmed by how beautifully lit the city was, she stopped to take all in. Pascal had his mouth agape. Rapunzel's lips trembled, her eyes crinkling up. Jack joined her side.

"It's quite the view, huh?" Jack spoke up.

Rapunzel wiped at her eye, and turned to Rapunzel with the biggest smile, "Yeah." She uttered.

Unfortunately, it was too late for the group to visit many attractions, nor did they have any money to pay. So they wandered the streets, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. The group stopped down by a pond situated by a neighborhood and sat down. Pascal scampered down onto her lap as they relaxed. "It really is amazing." Rapunzel sighed. Jack agreed. "And it's only one city. I can't imagine what the rest of the world must be like. I mean, it's so big. All I know is from what I read in books." Rapunzel added.

"Let me tell you, it's a lot different in real life than in books." Jack said.

"Well, you're Jack Frost. I bet you've been everywhere." Rapunzel raised an eyebrow.

"And that's where you're wrong, Punzie. Never been to Hawaii." Jack answered. Rapunzel chuckled, then noticed he'd called her Flynn's pet name "Punzie". Jack realized the same thing and laughed nervously.

"Come to think, where did Flynn even come up with that name?"

"Mm… I think it was the day we first met. He said it had a catchier ring to it than Rapunzel." She answered.

"Well, I guess it stuck, so he's right." Jack said and Rapunzel nodded.

"But to tell the truth, I don't really like it that much." Rapunzel replied, sheepishly.

"You don't?" Jack asked, almost sounding a bit sarcastic, but then asked genuinely, "Then why do you let Flynn call you that all the time?"

Rapunzel shrugged, "I don't know. He likes it so much so I didn't want to ruin it for him, you know."

"Sure…" Jack answered, though he wasn't being so truthful. There were a couple of moments of silence until Rapunzel spoke up again.

"That was pretty crazy at lunch, don't you think?"

"Oh, you mean that huge fight with Merida's Scottish buddies?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, oh, wait, those guys are friends of Merida? How come she was sitting with you and Hiccup, then?" Rapunzel spoke.

"Yeah, they are. She told us it was getting too tense over there, so she sat with me and Hiccup… I'm surprised you noticed." Jack then turned to look at her.

"Oh." Rapunzel reddened. "I just happened to see you three together…" Rapunzel picked at her fingernails.

"I see…" He leaned forward and seeing an opportunity, decided to ask, "You know, you _can_ come sit with us if you want…"

"Really?" Rapunzel blurted out, then cleared her throat settling down. "I mean, I don't know… I couldn't leave Flynn at our table…" Jack's eyebrows knitted together. He was sure Flynn would be fine, he had tons of other friends to keep him company at lunch.

"Okay…" Jack answered, deciding not to bring up the question again. They stayed quiet then, enjoying the peace until the clock hands reached 9:30. Jack flew Rapunzel and Pascal back to the tower and luckily there was no fuss with Gothel. Rapunzel stepped into the tower. "There you go. Safe and sound. Flynn had nothing to worry about." Jack stood at her window.

"Thank you, Jack. Really." Rapunzel smiled and he waved a hand, nonchalantly.

"No problem, Rapunzel."

"Oh, by the way, there's something I want to show you really quick." Rapunzel gestured to her room upstairs.

"Ok." Jack hopped inside, and following her up the steps. Rapunzel walked over to the canvas set against the wall and held it out. Jack examined the paintings and noticed the two new figures beside himself and Rapunzel. "Oh, cool. Hiccup and Merida." He grinned.

"I painted them last night after you brought me home." Rapunzel bent over the canvas, to look. "It was really fun when we were together last night. So I just wanted to add that into our painting."

"Nice." He complimented and then gazed up at Rapunzel. She really sounded like she would like to join them, but if Rapunzel wanted to stay with Flynn, he wouldn't pester.

Merida sat under the awning once more waiting for Hiccup under the quickly darkening sky. He eventually appeared in the sky, diving down to the ground. Merida stood and ran forward to greet him. "Hiccup. I'm glad you're here. Let's get to training."

"Wait, so you want to train here, today?" Hiccup asked. "And shouldn't we be getting a move on with our project?"

"Sure. It's like I said earlier, I'm gonna stay out of it. So, I'm not going to worry." Merida tried to sound convincing, but Hiccup wasn't completely sold. "And besides, we've got plenty of time for that project. I've wanted to learn to train dragons the whole week."

But he agreed, "Alright, then." He slid off of Toothless' back. "Now, the thing is, Toothless is already tame."

"Well, what's the point of teaching me to train an already trained dragon?" Merida suddenly thought. "

"Because it takes longer to train a wild dragon. And we need to start simple before we get to harder stuff." Hiccup answered.

Merida huffed out, "Okay." It made sense what he said, but Merida felt like she could take on the challenge of taming a wild dragon. She'd trained Angus well, hadn't she? "So what comes first?"

Hiccup thought for a moment, and then spoke, "Well, let's see, you've already gotten his attention." Toothless eyed his friend and the red-haired girl. "And I told him he can trust you, so…" He trailed off, scratching at his chin.

"I might as well teach you how to ride him." Hiccup finished. Merida gasped and hopped up on her feet. Hiccup smiled, chuckling, "Come on, Merida." She climbed up onto Toothless' back and eyed his saddle curiously.

"Where are the reins?" She looked around.

"Oh, you gotta hold on to these." Hiccup pointed to two holds up under the leather of Toothless' saddle. "And you also need to wear this." He pulled off a leather garment and handed it to Merida. "Connect it to Toothless' saddle so you don't fall off." Merida nodded, attaching it to her and then clicking it onto the dragon's saddle. "Good. Now there's one thing left I need to tell you." Hiccup said as Toothless looked back at the two. "Toothless has a prosthetic tail, so he can't fly on his own."

"Which means…?" Merida looked back at Toothless' tail.

"It means you're in charge of keeping him in flight. Use the stirrups to control his tail." Merida slipped her foot into the stirrup. She angled her foot and the tail fanned out.

"Oh!" Merida uttered. "Okay… I think I've got it, Hiccup." Merida nodded.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes." Merida replied, holding on tight. _I'll simply handle Toothless the way I do Angus. I should be fine. Just relax and focus. _"Alright, Toothless. Are you ready to go?" The dragon wasn't used to being ridden by others, but nodded anyway.

Merida grinned and then, cried out, "Yah!" driving him forward. Toothless' eyes widened as he bounded across the fields before jumping up into the air. Merida glanced back at his tail and made sure it was open by arching the stirrup. Toothless sailed into the sky. Hiccup watched, amazed and whooped. Merida laughed gazing back down, before turning back, "A little higher, Toothless! I want to be up in the clouds again!" Toothless nodded and shot up.

Way down below, Hiccup shouted, "Alright, you're doing good so far!"

Toothless leveled the two up in the clouds and Merida looked around happily. They were soon about a mile away from the castle. She didn't hear Hiccup call to stay where he could still see them.

Merida blew her hair out of her face, unable to hold back her huge smile. She was really flying, and this time by herself. She was broken out of her thoughts when Toothless suddenly jerked, "Whoa!" She grabbed ahold of his reins and kept him steady. "What's the matter, Toothless?" The dragon gestured back; he'd heard Hiccup's call.

He tried to turn back and she frowned, "What are you doing, Toothless, wait!" She tried to turn him back, but he'd already swerved back and was flying in the other direction. "Stop!" She tried to hold the dragon back, but he was already reaching the castle. "Toothless!" She shouted exasperatedly, pulling back; her feet in the stirrups jerked back closing his tail. He noticed and flailed about, Merida, quickly called, "Toothless, stop! Oh, no!" And he did stop, but now they were going down. Merida quickly fixed his tail back and Toothless in mid-fall was pulled back into flight, skimming the tree lines. Merida screamed as they crash-landed on the ground.

Toothless blinked his eyes, in a daze while Merida was breathing heavily. Thanking the gods that she was connected to the dragon's harness. "Toothless! Merida! Are you okay!" Hiccup ran forward. Toothless slowly came to his feet, shaking his head and nodded. Merida was still very shaken. "I tried to tell you not to fly out of sight." He said.

"I didn't hear you!" Merida cried, pushing back her hair. She turned back to Toothless, "Is that what all the fuss was about, Toothless?" She asked. Toothless bobbed his head. "Huh." She groaned out, panting.

"Don't… don't worry about it… I should've told you before you were in the air." Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. "You were doing pretty good, too. We just have to be more careful next time." He concluded. Merida was already unhooking herself from Toothless' saddle.

"Right. It was great until then." Merida hopped onto the ground. "We'll try again." Merida sighed. She turned to Toothless. "I didn't hurt you, did I, Toothless?"

Toothless gestured to him what looked like a "not really". Merida exhaled again.

"Merida? Are you out there? It's past curfew!" Elinor's voice rang out.

"Aye, mum!" Merida shouted back. She turned back to Hiccup and Toothless. "I'll see you later."

"Ok! Bye!" Hiccup called and waved her off. Merida trudged back into the castle, still feeling a little upset with her failure.

* * *

**Yeah, so I just realized these days have been happing consecutively and this would be the sixth day. And school days are traditionally five days. Woops. Perhaps there are six-day weeks at their school? I mean it isn't an ordinary school after all.**

**Anyways, Review, Favorite and Follow, Please!**


	11. Friends

**Another new chapter! Yay! I guess you could say this is the start of the second half of the story, so I hope you guys enjoy, cuz this is where things really start to kick off :) **

**Oh, and by the way, there are some short Hotel Transylvania and Megamind references/cameos, so look out for those!**

* * *

In the days of the following week, Merida saw a decrease in tension between the lords and her family. There were less dark circles under her mother's eyes and her father was less irritable as well. Merida wondered if the whole thing would just work itself out, but that couldn't be for certain. The lords' sons were still tense after all. She began to think again that maybe she ought to help, anyway. She, with her mother's help, had calmed the lords during the whole episode of her mother as a bear.

Merida thought this now, furrowing her brows in confusion as she sat in class. Since there was a substitute teacher, a short film was playing, giving her an excuse to zone out. She was brought back to reality by a pencil jab to her back. "Ach! Hiccup? What is it?"

"Flynn's asking around for pencil lead. Do you have any?" He asked his tone a little exasperated, glancing back at Flynn. Merida eyed Hiccup's wooden pencil, before sighing and screwing off the eraser to her mechanical one. A spare stick of lead fell out onto her palm.

"Give him this." She handed it over, the same level of enthusiasm in her voice.

"Thanks." He answered, then called quietly, "Here, Flynn." He stretched over his arm. Flynn was leaning back in his chair casually and caught off guard.

"Oh, right." He flailed forward and Rapunzel ended up having to reach over.

"Thank you, Hiccup." Rapunzel said honestly and he nodded, facing forward. He heard Flynn snicker behind him.

"I still can't get over that name." Rapunzel elbowed him, giving him a stern look.

"It's a Viking thing." She replied.

"That kid's a Viking?" Flynn asked. Hiccup rolled his eyes, propping his chin on his fist. Merida turned around slightly, giving Flynn a quick look and Hiccup a sympathetic one. Hiccup returned it with a sarcastic smile. He then let his gaze fall onto his desk, rolling his pencil up the wood and watching it fall back again and again.

"Hey, careful where you jab me, Punzie. I ate a breakfast burrito this morning that isn't sitting so well in my stomach." Flynn rubbed at his tummy, toward the end of class.

"Really? Sorry, Flynn. It just wouldn't hurt to be more considerate about Hiccup… and Merida, too." Rapunzel remembered his comment about her hair before.

"Why, are you, are you friends with those two?" Flynn answered, sitting up straight.

"Well, one its common sense to treat everyone fairly. Two, I've hung out with them a couple of times." She shrugged. "They're friends of Jack."

"Ah, huh… How's it going with Frost, anyway?" Flynn asked.

"Oh, great, we've gotten a lot done so far." She nodded.

"Really? You and the King of Slackers?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, "Yes, Flynn. He's been a great partner so far, actually… Come to think, how are things with Mavis?"

"Fine. Fine. Her old man's a little… well; actually he's a lot like your mom."

"So… strict?"

"Yeah, if that floats your boat." Flynn grinned. His face then contorted into slight pain. Rapunzel frowned.

"You okay, Flynn?"

"Sure, just… just my stomach bothering me again." He clutched at his belly. Rapunzel looked concerned.

"Do you want me to take you to the nurse's office?" She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh…" Something came up, causing his cheeks to puff out; he placed a fist to his mouth. He made a gagging noise, and then nodded to Rapunzel. She quickly got the substitute's attention and was allowed permission to leave. The class watched Rapunzel lead her boyfriend out of the room, forgetting about the rather dull movie playing. Hiccup and Merida shared a look,

"Would you look at that," Merida said as the couple left. She jutted out her bottom lip. "Oh, wee lamb." She then turned back to Hiccup, grinning at Flynn's misfortune.

Not 15 seconds after Rapunzel had gotten Flynn to the nurse did he grab for the trash can, hurling out his morning's breakfast. The nurse frowned and Rapunzel winced. Flynn lifted himself up, wiping at his mouth a bit, breathing heavily. "Ugh…" He clutched at his stomach again.

"I think it's best if you head home for the day, sweetheart." The nurse said. Rapunzel was frowning. Flynn looked at both weakly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He then addressed Rapunzel, "I'm sorry, Punzie."

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine. You need to rest." Rapunzel assured him. He gave her small smile before the nurse approached him with medicine. As she talked to Flynn, Rapunzel still sighed. Now what was she going to do about…

… Lunch. Rapunzel acquired a tray of tacos and beans, paid for it and moved out of line, but now faced a problem. She eyed at her usual table where she sat with Flynn. And the usual people were there, the Stabbington brothers and then a strange blur of future ex-cons mixed with the popular kids. None cared if she was there especially in Flynn's absence, none even looked her way. Rapunzel bit her lip nervously, then her eyes widened. She looked over to the far end of the cafeteria, where Hiccup, Merida and Jack were sitting. A smile crossed her lips and she sighed in relief. Rapunzel walked forward making her way through the cafeteria.

"Um, hey, you guys." She said, addressing the group once she reached them. They broke out of their current conversation. Jack was the first to smile at her.

"Hi, Rapunzel." He twisted around in his seat. Hiccup and Merida waved. "What brings you here?"

"Is it okay if, uh, if I sit here." She said, though she felt welcome. They eyed each other before agreeing.

"Sure. Have a seat." Jack pulled out a chair beside him. She grinned gratefully.

"Thank you so much." Rapunzel sat down, placing her tray and bag down.

"No problem. I heard from Hiccup and Merida that Flynn had to go home sick." Jack said.

"Yeah, he did. Bad breakfast burrito." She answered.

"Oh, I hate those things." Hiccup commented.

"And yet you eat raw fish every morning somehow?" Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"Shut up, Jack." Hiccup scowled and Jack smirked. Rapunzel watched in amusement and Merida rolled her eyes, turning to Rapunzel,

"How come you aren't sitting at your usual table? I know Flynn's not there, but…"

"To be honest, that _is _the reason. I only sit there because Flynn does." Rapunzel twisted a little in her seat, gesturing back. "Those are all of his friends. Not mine." They all followed her gaze. One of the Stabbington brothers catapulted a spoonful of beef into a girl's face and several students erupted into laughter.

"Neanderthals." Hiccup muttered in disgust. Merida nodded. Rapunzel turned,

"Yeah…" Rapunzel blenched, she then scooted forward in her seat, looking over the three, Jack last, "… And also, I've kinda wanted to join you guys for a little while. But I guess I was too nervous to approach you with Flynn around."

"Rapunzel, I told you, if you want to, you can." Jack assured her.

"No one's stopping you." Merida added.

"Including Flynn." Hiccup said, still a little bitter from earlier. Rapunzel smiled gratefully at them.

"Don't worry, it's not Flynn. I just didn't want to leave him behind at lunch."

Merida frowned in confusion, the corner of her mouth curling up. "Rapunzel, I think he's fine. He's got that mass of people over there." She gestured with her hand, throwing it in the hair.

"Well, you're not wrong." Rapunzel admitted. "Come to think, why aren't you with your friends from Scotland?" Rapunzel glanced back at their table.

"There's, uh, there's been some business going on between my families that's put a bit of a strain on our friendship."

"Oh, I see. Sorry to hear about that." Rapunzel answered, respectfully.

"Don't be. Besides, it's fun hanging around you three." She grinned, slinging an arm over Hiccup's shoulder. Her bunch of curls flew into his face and he blew them away as Jack and Rapunzel chuckled. "Oh! Sorry, Hiccup." She pulled away and he grinned, albeit awkwardly.

"Nah, you're fine, Merida." He managed a laugh. Merida cleared her throat.

"So, what did you all think about that quiz Professor Ritchi's class?"

"I'm pretty sure that half of that quiz was a bunch of trick questions." Jack answered.

"I studied an hour for that and only got, like, five questions right probably." Rapunzel said, turning to Jack.

"I say she got them off the internet." Hiccup spoke bluntly. They all agreed, and Merida added.

"I hear she's with an alien if that tells you anything." They all then burst into laughter, thinking it ridiculous. Rapunzel the most, enjoying herself more than she had in a while. She already felt like a part of the group and it made her heart swell with happiness. Merida tried to stifle her giggling as Professor Ritchi happened to pass by. "Shush, you guys." They all cleared their throats, calming down. Ritchi gave them a quick glance, on her cellphone, before saying,

"I don't know where you're ray gun is, Megamind. You should've thought more about that before throwing out all your evil, extraterrestrial knick-knacks." She sounded irritated. The four all heard, and looked to each other with baffled expressions.

It was the following day, when Flynn had returned, when she suddenly felt more conflicted than the day before. The three had given her lots of encouragement and she felt welcome in their circle of friends, but now she had to break the news to her boyfriend. Last night, Jack had assured her Flynn wouldn't mind and Rapunzel wondered why she was worrying so much. She shook her head and took a deep breath as Flynn began to lead the two toward his table. "Um… Flynn, I… uh… I sort of… do you mind if I sit with Jack, Hiccup and Merida?" She blurted. Flynn's eyes widened.

"So you _are_ chummy with those guys." He said. Rapunzel shrugged sheepishly, but then nodded.

Flynn thought for a second, and then shrugged as well, "Hm. Sure, if that's what you want." Rapunzel grinned widely.

"Oh, thank you, Flynn!" She tried to hug him, but realized both of their hands were full. She laughed, "I'll see you later." She kissed his cheek before going to join the others at their table. Flynn smiled, watching her off before setting down his tray. Rapunzel was greeted at the table with smiles and waves and she returned the gesture taking her seat beside Jack once more.

In the time that passed, the table that was originally home to two became one to four. Though the Lords eventually settled their dispute with the Dunbrochs (using their children's' help after all), she decided to leave the young princes' table permanently. They could see how well she got along with the three- especially Hiccup- and the boys were more than happy to have a chance to unveil MacIntosh's secret magazine stash. As for Rapunzel, she didn't return to Flynn's table again, though they were still a happy couple. A friendship began to form between the group, seen during school and after when they worked on their projects.

Rapunzel got to see more cities thanks to Jack and Merida began to improve with her training. And occasionally, the group would meet up, working on their assignments together. By the time the holidays had come and passed, the four were inseparable. It was something all their peers could see, even back home. In Berk, they were, a bit mockingly called, Hiccup's new fancy high school chums. In DunBroch, Elinor always called them Merida's wee little friends. Gothel knew nothing of them, of course. And North, comparing Jack's best friends to his own, referred to them as the Big Four.

In early January, it was bitter cold, and students started wearing coats and mittens to school. Hiccup had come in early to make up a quiz, so Merida hadn't waited for him in the forest. Instead, she joined Rapunzel heading inside, Flynn already off with his own friends. "Good morning, Merida." Rapunzel smiled, adjusting her woolen beanie.

"'Morning, Rapunzel." Merida greeted before shivering, rubbing her mitted hands together. "Gods, it is freezing this morning."

"I know, I don't mind a slight chill, but it's cold enough for penguins to survive here." Rapunzel touched at the outdoors stairwell, bits of snow appearing on her mittens.

"You should be used to it, considering how much time you've been spending with Jack." Merida replied, smirking.

"True, but, it's different with him, it's a comfortable cold… if that makes any sense." Rapunzel answered.

"Sort of…" Merida replied, trying to catch any indication of something deeper beneath her words. "Well, maybe Jack will take it easy with the weather- just for you." She joked.

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow, chuckling, "And why would he do that?" She pushed open the door for the two to enter.

Merida rolled her eyes, sighing quietly; after all this time, even when Jack was clearly in love with her, Rapunzel still remained oblivious. Minding the fact that she had a boyfriend, Merida said, "No reason."

Hiccup departed his professor's classroom, certain that he'd passed his quiz, therefore happy. Heading toward his locker, he saw a flash of blue and white speed past the window and shook his head. "… And Jack's here." He heard his friend's laughter as gusts of wind blew past students in his wake, followed by irritated shouts.

Hiccup chuckled as he arrived at his locker, the door to a nearby bridge outside opened and Jack slipped in, "Hey, watch it, Frost!" A voice yelled from below as he shut the door.

"Whoo! That was fun." He stretched, swinging his staff over his shoulder. "Hey, buddy! You're here early." Jack approached him.

"Yeah, I had to make up a quiz." Hiccup quickly explained. "You really get a kick out of causing other people trouble, don't you?" He gestured to outside.

"Now, what makes you say that, Hiccup?" Jack cocked an eyebrow, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "That would be rude and… slightly sadistic." But then he answered, honestly, "Nah, I'm just messing with them." He nudged his friend.

"Right…" Hiccup said, gathering his books.

Jack scoffed, "I'll see you in first period, I gotta meet up with Rapunzel in the library."

"Okay, you kids don't have too much fun." Hiccup answered. Jack blushed, his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance.

"Yeah, I'll remember that. And, uh, speak for yourself. Here comes your princess. You two don't enjoy yourselves too much." He winked, smirking before heading off. Hiccup rolled his eyes before facing his other friend.

At lunch that day, the four came together again at their usual table. Normal conversation, well, normal to them, came up as they ate their food. Rapunzel was a little quieter than usual, pulling out her school notebook and doodling. "… And so I told dad, it's true, my friend has hair long enough to use as a lasso. I remember that time in the library when you knocked down that book I was trying to reach… Rapunzel? Hello?"

Rapunzel's pencil jerked, the line scratching out. "Huh, oh, right, yeah." Rapunzel looked up, before erasing the line.

The three eyed each other. Jack spoke up, "We were talking about dancing carrots."

"Yeah-wait, what? We were?" Rapunzel looked at them with wide eyes. Jack immediately started to snicker. Rapunzel's expression's settled down to annoyed and unimpressed. Hiccup cleared his throat, trying not to laugh and even Merida, too.

"Is something on your mind, Rapunzel?" She asked.

"Just, uh… just lost in thought, I guess." Rapunzel shrugged.

"What's that you're drawing?" Jack asked.

"Doodling, it's nothing…" She replied, before closing her notebook. Jack caught a glimpse of her tower with little round objects floating around it. He raised an eyebrow.

Rapunzel combed her hair back, sighing as she dropped the notebook into her bag. "So. What were we _really_ talking about?"

That evening, Jack flew by to Rapunzel's tower. He landed on the ledge, noticing Rapunzel was perched up above the fireplace. Her paints were out and she was finishing up a new painting on the wall behind two red curtains. It looked a lot like the sketch from earlier, with the balls of light floating around, but instead of the tower there was a forest- with Rapunzel on the treetops. "Hey, Rapunzel!" He called. She jumped slightly, "Jack, hi."

Rapunzel waved and Pascal poked his out. She set down her paintbrush, though there were still at least three tucked behind her ear. She slipped off of the fireplace. "What's going on up there?" Jack gestured to the painting.

"Oh, right. Well… my birthday's coming up. In three days, actually." Rapunzel admitted.

Jack's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Yeah… I usually don't make that big of a deal out of it, well, I mean Mother doesn't. So I never got around to telling you." She began to mumble. Jack raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling up.

"Don't worry, it's all right. But, uh, what's your birthday got to do with the painting?" Jack asked.

"Ok, the thing is… ever since I was little every night on my birthday, these floating lights would appear in the sky. _Only_ on my birthday."

"Huh… Strange coincidence." Jack said.

"That's the thing. I… I can't help but feel like their meant for _me_." Rapunzel answered, wistfully. They both gazed up at the painting. She looked to Jack. "So, all I've wanted for my birthday- for practically my entire life- is to see the lights, and, and not just from my window. In person." She looked back to the painting. "I need to know what they are." Rapunzel said. Jack was amazed; he'd never seen Rapunzel so passionate about something before.

"Why don't you ask your mom to take you?"

"I did this morning. But she just sort of brushed it off. That's why I was not really myself at lunch, today." She shrugged.

"Well, how can she do that if this means so much to you?" Jack crinkled his eyebrows together.

"I don't know, she said their just stars and that I should just stay here." Rapunzel shrugged, grabbing at a lock of her hair. Jack began to scowl.

"Bring it up again."

"Well…" Rapunzel trailed off, knowing it was a bad idea to pester Gothel.

"Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Her mother's voice rang. Their eyes widened slightly.

"She's back already. Okay, Jack, just, um, go upstairs to my room. The animation book's already out. I'll be right there." Rapunzel said before tying her hair around the latch. "Just a minute, mother!" She called.

"Are you gonna say something?" Jack questioned, backing up toward the steps. Rapunzel sighed, tossing her hair out of the window.

"… Yeah." She said, and Jack smiled.

"Good." He headed up the stairs and she nodded, watching him go. Rapunzel began to haul Gothel up into the tower. Her mother grinned brightly.

"I've got a surprise for you, dear. I brought parsnips, I'm making hazelnut soup for dinner. You're favorite." She extended her arms dramatically.

"Oh, thank you, mother." Rapunzel smiled as Gothel set down the basket. She glanced at her painting, "Um, mother, remember those pictures I showed you in my notebook this morning?"

"The stars?" Gothel raised an eyebrow.

"Floating lights," Rapunzel corrected, "I've been thinking about you said and…"

"Rapunzel, I thought we'd dropped the subject." Her mother said.

"I know, I know, but listen, you're always saying that I can't handle myself out there-"

"Darling, I _know_ you handle yourself out there." Gothel said matter-of-factly.

"No, mother, ever since I've started school I've gone on amazing adventures and I've made wonderful friends, and, I really think it's time that I-"

"Rapunzel, we're done talking."

"Mother-"

"Rapunzel!"

"Oh, come on!-"

"Enough with the lights already! I knew this _stupid _school thing was a bad idea! Giving you these ridiculous ideas! Say another word and you'll never leave this tower! EVER!" Gothel shouted. Rapunzel was left shaken, her eyes widening in shock.

Gothel breathed a couple of times, before dropping into a nearby chair. "Great, now _I'm_ the bad guy." She groaned. Rapunzel's face fell, her eyes moving to the painting, then to her bedroom, where Jack was. She closed her eyes for a moment, sighing, then said,

"What I was going to say, mother, is that… I know what I for my birthday now." She gazed up.

"And _what_ might that be?"

"New paint? The ones from the white shells you once brought me?" Rapunzel spoke, hopefully.

"Well, that is a long trip, Rapunzel. Takes almost three days." Gothel replied.

"I just… thought it'd be a better idea than the… stars." Rapunzel's eyes fell to the floor. Gothel sighed, standing from the chair.

"Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?" Gothel asked.

"We've got the weekend coming up. I know I'll be safe as long as I'm here."

"Mm… alright, dear. I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning and should be back by Monday. In the meantime, I'll start up dinner." Gothel gathered the basket, heading for the kitchen.

Rapunzel exhaled, then headed for the stairs.

Jack had heard their conversation, especially Gothel's outburst. He was so angry that it set a deep chill upon the bedroom, which Rapunzel immediately felt when she entered. She shivered, "Jack."

"How could she do that to her own daughter?" He scoffed.

"She's… she's probably just looking out for me." Rapunzel said quietly.

"Or trying to make you miserable. Rapunzel, you deserve to see those lights. And it's wrong of her to keep you from doing that." Jack said, firmly. Rapunzel remained somber.

"Well, her mind is set, I can't go." Rapunzel plopped on her bed. Jack's scowl, softened to a sad frown.

"There has to be some other way…" His eyes lit up. "What if I took you?"

"What?" Rapunzel's eyes widened. Then a smile pricked at her lips.

"Yeah, you and me-" He began, before Rapunzel interrupted him.

"And, and Merida and Hiccup! They should come, too!" She was now excited. Jack's smile faltered slightly, but then he nodded,

"Right, them, too."

"Why didn't I think of that before?" Rapunzel looked to her pocket, where Pascal was now hidden and he poked his head out, smiling at her. "All right. We'll leave tomorrow after school and then-"

"Whoa, don't get ahead of yourself. We've got to plan this all out with the others." Jack said, though he laughed.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm just… I'm really excited now." Rapunzel pushed her hair back and giggled nervously.

"Well, you should, this is gonna be great, I swear." He grinned.

Merida waited outside for Hiccup to arrive at castle DunBroch. To her surprise, he arrived, not on Toothless, but on a completely different dragon. She recognized it from the Dragon Manual as the Monstrous Nightmare. She gaped. As Hiccup landed, Merida ran up, "Hiccup! You brought a new dragon!"

"Yep, this is Hookfang, one of from my friend's dragons from back home." Hiccup said as he slid off of his back.

"Oh, wow, a Monstrous Nightmare." Merida said, excited. She ran to touch him, but then remembered Hiccups' advice.

"It's ok. You can pet him." Hiccup said, joining her side. Merida smiled and came forward, placing her hand on his muzzle. She turned to Hiccup,

"Girl or boy?"

"Boy. He's a bit rough around the edges, so I thought Hookfang would perfect for your next lesson." Hiccup answered. Merida grinned with excitement.

"Hookfang, this is Merida. The girl you're training with." He gestured to her. Hookfang looked to Merida and snorted. She looked to Hiccup questioningly and Hiccup laughed awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Let's get started."

"Hookfang, come here, boy." Merida lead the dragon forward, backing up and Hiccup stood a bit to the side. She moved back, closer to the woods where they'd stood. Hookfang followed, curiously. "Good, good."

"Now, you've mastered riding Toothless, but Hookfang isn't so easy. He's not as keen about new riders."

"Is that so?" Merida raised an eyebrow, still calmly leading Hookfang to a spacious area.

"Yeah. I've ridden him once when it was an emergency, but he knows me. He's been pretty wary of strangers." Hiccup said.

"Huh…" Merida spoke, before stopping, her eyes still on Hookfang. "Alright, boy, you ready for a test flight?" She touched his muzzle again. Hookfang calmed down a little. "That's it, Hookfang." Merida smiled. "Now, stay." She moved around, preparing to mount his back.

"Watch out for the spikes, Merida. He doesn't have a saddle." Hiccup said. Merida nodded as she carefully climbed on. "Now, since he has use of both wings, Hookfang can fly well on his own, so it'll be a little more of a challenge to control him."

"Got it." Merida answered, grabbing a hair tie out of her pocket. Since she'd begun training, she and Hiccup learned it was best to keep her curls out of the way. Merida didn't like to, but it was a safety hazard. She'd almost fallen out of the sky with Toothless, once, because her hair had kept going her face, blinding her. She tied her hair back into a low ponytail and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Use his horns as reins, okay?" Hiccup said.

"Yeah." Merida grabbed ahold of them carefully. "Let's go, Hookfang!" She said and the dragon set off. He lurched forward and Merida held on tighter to the dragon. Hookfang shot into the air with Merida in tow. When they were leveled some way above Hiccup, she spoke.

"Let's stay in Hiccup's sight, alright?" She spoke down to the dragon and he appeared to understand.

Hiccup watched the two from below, they seemed to be doing well so far. She'd come a long way, he thought. Merida was often impatient at first, and didn't quite understand the creatures, yet. But she was a lot better now. He smiled to himself, watching them swoop up and down. Hiccup wondered if maybe he should start teaching Merida the flying tricks he practiced with Toothless. He then blinked back to reality, "Merida! Hookfang!" Hiccup called.

"Yes?" She yelled down and the dragon inclined his head toward him.

"I think that's good for now, it's getting dark. Come on down!" He shouted through cupped hands.

"Alright!" Merida answered, and guided Hookfang back to the ground. They landed peacefully and Merida slid off of Hookfang's back, patting him. "So how did I do, Hiccup?"

"Great, you've really improved, actually." Hiccup admitted. Merida grinned happily.

"Yes! You know, it's all thanks to you, Hiccup. You're a great teacher." She placed a hand on his shoulder. Hiccup flushed red with her praise.

"Well, you're a great student." He shrugged. Merida's hand fell from his shoulder as she combed a stray curl back.

"But you have to be honest, I was a wee troublesome at first." Merida said.

"Well, that's made it more worthwhile. Seeing you learn from your mistakes and become a better rider." He said. Merida looked touched for a moment, but then nudged his shoulder, playfully.

"Don't be so corny, Hiccup." She said as she headed over to the awning near the castle. Hiccup and Hookfang followed.

"What? You said be honest." Hiccup replied. Merida plopped onto the grass, taking a breather. Hiccup chose to sit beside her. He looked to Hookfang, "You can rest for now, Hookfang." The dragon bobbed his head and curled into a ball. The violet sky began to darken into black as Hiccup and Merida rested.

"Hiccup?" Merida spoke up.

"Hm?" He sounded.

"Who is Hookfang's rider?" Merida asked.

"I told you one of my friends in Berk… His name's Snot lout." He added. Merida snorted, chuckling.

"_Snotlout? _Is there some sort of hideous naming system in Berk?" She spoke between laughs.

"Well, yeah. Our parents think horrible names scare off gnomes and trolls." Hiccup answered. Merida settled down.

"Does it work?" She sat up straighter.

"I've never seen gnomes or trolls- I even went hunting for them when I was little. So, yeah, I think it does the trick." Hiccup said. Merida chuckled again before exhaling, leaning back against the stone walls.

"… What are your friends like… on Berk?" She asked. Hiccup thought for a moment, eyes wandering.

"Um… well, for one thing, Snotlout is… well, he's, uh… confident." He said, lamely.

"Uh… alright…?" Merida looked to him questioningly.

"Look, I've never had to describe my friends before, okay?" Hiccup said in defense.

Merida shook her head, smiling, "So what about the others?"

"Uh… there's Fishlegs." He paused, already anticipating Merida's round of laughter. When it'd died down, he said, "He's not the strongest of us, but he's still knows a lot about dragons." She nodded.

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Tuffnut's the boy and Ruffnut's the girl. Their fraternal twins with pretty nasty attitudes- especially towards each other." He said.

"Well, at least they're not triplets." Merida responded, referring to her brothers. Hiccup chuckled lightly, but then cleared his throat.

"And then there's, uh, then there's Astrid."

Merida raised an eyebrow, "Who's that?"

"My ex-girlfriend." He winced, eyeing Merida.

She gasped, "You had a girlfriend?"

"Don't be too surprised." Hiccup frowned, sarcastically. Merida laughed and Hiccup calmed down, glad she was being casual about it. It was no problem when he'd told Jack, but Merida was different.

"Why 'ex'?" Merida asked.

Hiccup sighed, "… We just didn't work out, I guess. And I mean, starting high school didn't help. I barely see her anymore. Long distance relationships never go down well, right?"

"Well… sometimes…" Merida shrugged, picking at the fabric on her coat. She looked to Hiccup.

"I don't know… maybe it was just a stupid crush, you know?" Hiccup's voice lowered.

"Come on, Hiccup. Don't say that. What is she like, anyway?" She asked, patting his shoulder.

"Astrid… huh, she's actually kind of like you. She's tough, energetic… and _really_ stubborn." He said and Merida elbowed him in the side. "Ow, see she would always hit me, too." He rubbed at his side. And then he was silent for a moment, thinking. Was that it? Was that why he liked Merida? Because she reminded her of Astrid?

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't help it when you go and say things like _that_." She patted at his sore spot. "I'm not _that_ stubborn. More like, determined, I think." She smiled. Hiccup laughed a little.

"If you say so." Hiccup shrugged and Merida just rolled her eyes.

"My mum used to call me that." She remarked.

"My dad, too." Hiccup replied, though internally noticing that they were getting off topic. They looked to each other with half-smile before returning to silence. Hiccup began to think for again, glancing at Merida out of the corner of his eye. It was true that she was like Astrid in some ways, but there was something special about her. Something else that had hooked him, he realized- especially after coming to be her friend first. Maybe it was her spitfire attitude, her total unpredictability. And maybe it was that deeper connection he had with her, one not found between him and Astrid. She'd been through the wringer before, she knew how he'd felt, not amounting to what his dad had wanted. But she also knew how it was to mend that relationship, how parent and child had changed for the better. Hiccup sighed, a smile forming on his lips.

Merida spoke, "Can I meet your friends someday, Hiccup?" She was gazing up at the sky.

"Sure, I guess. I think they'd want to meet you." Hiccup said.

"Then why don't I visit there with you?" Merida thought aloud.

"Huh?"

"I could meet your friends, your family…" She sat up, an idea forming in her mind. "We've been planning that dragon video of yours for a while… Why don't we film it in Berk?" She now sounded excited.

"Well… that's… not a bad idea, actually. All of our dragons could be in it and their riders. We could mix it in with the animation bits we've got." He grinned.

"Exactly. So we should do it?" Merida asked.

"Yeah, why not? Maybe sometime during the weekend. We've got most of a script done, we could just add on."

"Alright, then it's settled." Merida beamed.

"Merida, it's time to come inside, dear!" Her mother's voice called. Merida pouted slightly, but then shouted,

"I'm coming!" Her voice startled Hookfang, who began to stir. "Oh, sorry about that." She apologized, standing to her feet. Hiccup followed suit.

"No worries, Hookfang'll be alright." He began to make his way over to the dragon. Merida followed.

"Thanks, again, Hiccup." She said, her tone calmer than usual. This was one of Merida's sweeter moments and caused Hiccup to smile.

"No problem, really." He climbed up onto Hookfang. Merida smiled faintly, then thought for a moment, her gaze averting.

"… Hiccup?" She looked back up. Hiccup settled himself on the dragon for a second then turned to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Um…" Merida began, but then quickly lost her nerve, something that only happened once in a blue moon. "… never mind, it's nothing."

Hiccup thought that he may have seen the slightest trace of a blush on her face and furrowed his eyebrows together slightly. "Oh… okay. Well, good night, Merida." Hiccup said,

"G'night. It was nice meeting you, Hookfang." Merida said, before the two began to take off. She waved goodbye, before folding her arms, a fresh snow beginning to fall. She exhaled, her cold breath visible in the air and turned, heading inside.

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**So, what did you think? My main worry while writing this is that I rushed anything, but I had to bring the four together as friends for what's coming next. Cuz starting next chapter... ROAD TRIP! **

**Also, Rapunzel's birthday is around springtime, but I decided to move it up for the sake of my story. Besides, the start of the year is about new beginnings and redemption which is some of what Rapunzel represents to me with her healing powers and so on.**

**Review, Follow and Favorite, please!**


	12. Burgess

**New Chapter! Woot! Continuing on from the start of the second half, again, the story really gets big starting now :D Enjoy!**

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The following morning, Merida sat in a comfortable armchair in the library, flipping through the pages of a book absentmindedly. Last night's conversation echoed in her mind, and she pondered over the unfamiliar emotions that had come over her. Why had she acted that way as Hiccup left? Merida bit her lip, distracting herself with the thought that she'd soon meet Hiccup's family and friends. She remembered their strange names with a soft chuckle, but when she came to Astrid, her smile faltered, slightly. Merida groaned in annoyance at herself and snapped the book shut, returning it back to the shelf. As she was grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, Rapunzel appeared at the end of the aisle.

"Merida! Glad I caught you," Rapunzel smiled, approaching her, "Ok, so I haven't told you before, but it's my birthday in two days and me and Jack are planning to-"

"Whoa, Rapunzel, slow down!" Merida halted her, holding a hand up. Rapunzel stopped and then smiled sheepishly. "What about your birthday?"

"My birthday is in two days and to celebrate I want to see the floating lights ceremony a little ways from my tower. Mother won't take me, so Jack offered to and we decided to invite you and Hiccup, too." She explained at a slower pace.

Merida smiled sadly, "That sounds great, but… Hiccup and I are planning on visiting Berk this weekend."

"Really? Oh…" Rapunzel failed to hide her disappointment. Merida felt genuinely sorry, though, and said,

"Perhaps, we could… work something out?" Merida offered. A hopeful smile appeared on Rapunzel's face,

"Sure, we'll talk it over at lunch." At that, the warning bell for first period rang and the two prepared to depart. Merida agreed with Rapunzel and the two set off. She joined up with Flynn, but he soon made a quick run to the bathroom, urging Rapunzel to go on without him. In the halls, she met up with Jack. "I found Merida just now and told her about the trip…" She began.

"And how'd that go?" He replied.

"She and Hiccup are already planning on going to Berk the same weekend." Rapunzel answered.

"Yeah, that's what Hiccup said, too. I just talked to him a second ago." Jack huffed, but wasn't all that upset. He wouldn't mind having Rapunzel to himself after all.

"But Merida agreed we could talk things over at lunch, maybe it'll work out." Rapunzel added. Jack nodded half-heartedly.

At lunch, they all came together, setting down their bags and trays. "So let me get this straight, I have plans to show Merida Berk, while you and Rapunzel want to go see the lights show."

"Floating lights ceremony." Rapunzel muttered under her breath. Jack looked to her and then back to Hiccup,

"Yup. That's about right."

Merida spoke up, "But is there a way to compromise?"

Hiccup thought for a moment, and then smiled, "Easy. One big road trip. We all go as a group, swing by Corona for the lights, then the next day head over to Berk. Everybody gets something out of it."

The others thought this over before agreeing, it did sound like a good idea. They nodded their heads, uttering words of agreement. Rapunzel said, "Ok. We leave this afternoon. My mother is gone on a three day errand so there's no trouble there."

"I _will_ have to ask my mum and dad." Merida spoke up.

"Yeah, I have to ask my dad first. I haven't even told him about bringing Merida over yet." Hiccup said.

"Alright. Well, you guys talk to your parents when you get home, then… meet me and Rapunzel in Burgess." Jack replied. Before Merida could ask where the town was, Jack added, "Hiccup, you know where to go."

Hiccup bobbed his head, "I'll pick up Merida on the way over," Then said, "Sounds like a plan." Rapunzel smiled with glee, satisfied with how things had turned out.

"… What's the fuss over these floating lights, anyway?" Merida asked after a moment. Rapunzel smiled faintly, eyeing Jack for a moment before saying,

"Well, ever since I was a little girl, every night on my birthday I'd see these lights floating off in the distance. And it only happened on my birthday… they felt special, like it had something to do with me." Rapunzel began twiddling with her hair. "So I've wanted to see them, in person, I mean for a _long_ time."

Hiccup spoke up, "But you didn't because of your mom?"

"Actually, I never asked her until now. But she said no, so… that's why Jack brought up the idea."

"Wait, why would she say no?" Merida backed up a bit.

"Same reason as always. Can't handle myself in the real world." Rapunzel sighed. Merida and Hiccup shared a look.

"So she doesn't know anything about this?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow and Jack and Rapunzel shook their heads.

"A forbidden journey. I like it." Merida grinned.

That afternoon, Hiccup waved goodbye to his friends before grabbing a ride on Toothless home, heading for Berk. He hoped to the Gods that his father would agree to their trip; after all, he'd been a lot more lenient since the whole Dragon-Viking war way back when. He and Toothless landed beside Hiccup's house and he dismounted his dragon. The village was still bustling with activity, townspeople walking about. He spotted Gobber nearby and came forward, "Hey, Gobber!" He then called over his shoulder for Toothless to stay.

The blacksmith approached, "Ah, Hiccup. You're home early."

"Yeah, I came to ask my dad about something. Is he home yet?" Hiccup asked.

"No, I don't believe so. Last I saw him he was by the training grounds." He answered.

"Ok, thanks, I'll see you later, Gobber." He called over his shoulder as he made his way to dragon training. Just as Gobber said, Stoick was by the arena, overseeing the classes.

"Dad, hi." He greeted as came to stand beside him.

"Hiccup." Stoick smiled a little, turning to him. "How was school?"

"Good." Hiccup replied out of habit, Stoick asked the question every day. "Hey, so, um, my friends were planning to go on a trip this weekend…"

"What kind of trip?" Stoick raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's Rapunzel's birthday, so we're celebrating in the city, then we'll bring the gang back here. Merida and I want to film a video for our project- and she also wants to meet everyone." Hiccup explained.

"Hm." Stoick thought over the idea. "Well, it's about time I meet these friends of yours." He then grinned. "By all means, go ahead."

Hiccup smiled, thankfully, "Thanks, dad." He turned on his heel, but then halted. "We're meeting up this afternoon, so I've gotta start packing."

Stoick nodded, "Go on." Hiccup grinned wider, breaking into a sprint for the house now. As he passed back through the village he ran into Astrid of all people.

"Hey, Hiccup." She greeted with a slight smile. He waved.

"Er, hey, Astrid." He grinned awkwardly.

"What's your hurry?" She walked along a bit.

"About to go on a trip with my school friends." He quickly answered.

"Ah, I see." The corner of her lip turned up as she gave him a look. "Well, tell them I said 'hi' for me." She said.

"Yeah, no problem." Hiccup said absentmindedly, but then thought. "Actually they'll be coming by Berk this time, so you can say so yourself." He added.

"Oh, really?" Astrid cocked an eyebrow.

"Sure. You know, I think you'll like them, Astrid." Hiccup thought for a moment back to his conversation with Merida the night before.

"Yeah, I bet I will." Astrid called after Hiccup as he arrived at his house. "Especially that, uh, project partner you mention a lot." She smirked a little and then chuckled lightly at Hiccup's reaction. He appeared a bit flustered, but then nodded.

"Yep, definitely. Well, I'll see you later, Astrid." He said before slipping inside. She called out,

"See ya." As he closed the door. He exhaled, wondering why Astrid always seemed to drive him into a corner. He ran a hand across his forehead, heading upstairs to pack a couple of necessities. After dumping extra clothes and some food into his schoolbag he headed back outside to Toothless. "Alright, Toothless, let's go." The dragon nudged at him eagerly, ready to go. Hiccup climbed up and the two set off, heading over to DunBroch to pick up Merida.

Merida approached her parents in the throne room, hoping they weren't too distracted. "Mum, dad!" She called. They turned away from their business with the servants and acknowledged her.

"Yes, Merida?" Elinor responded, turning away from the servants momentarily.

"My friends want to go on a trip this weekend, can I go?" She cut straight to the chase. Elinor and Fergus looked to each other, turning away to privately consult. Merida waited impatiently. A few moments passed as they whispered, Fergus not so quietly. "I'm supposed to meet them soon, so can we make a decision?"

They turned back to her, Elinor sighing at Merida's impatience. "We've decided to let you go- that is, after you tell us where it is you're even going."

"Right. Of course. There's a kingdom a little ways from where Rapunzel lives that we want to visit for her birthday. They're sort of having a special lights show there. And then the next day we're going to Berk, to work on my and Hiccup's project." Merida added. Fergus shrugged, smiling.

"Sounds harmless enough, don't you think, lass?" He turned to Elinor. She looked serious, but answered.

"I suppose so. Just don't do anything reckless- and stay out of trouble."

Merida grinned, "Don't I always?" Then jumped up, hugging her mother and pecking her father's cheek. "Thanks, mum, dad." She rushed off to her room, excitedly. Once there, she tossed clothes and trinkets into her bag. She didn't hesitate to sling her bow and arrow on before pulling her bag onto one shoulder. With that, Merida made her way downstairs, calling out goodbye to her parents and stopping a moment for her brothers, then heading off. Merida slipped into the kitchen quickly, grabbing a pastry and then easily slid out the door. Merida set to waiting for Hiccup to arrive, munching on her treat as she did.

Hiccup arrived minutes later, riding Toothless again. Merida swallowed the last bite of her snack before running up to her friend and waving at Toothless. "It's good to see you again, Toothless." She petted the creature, which looked to her with big eyes. Merida stood to her full height, smiling at Hiccup. "I'm ready to go." She gestured to herself.

"Great, glad your parents allowed you to come." He spoke as she climbed onto Toothless' saddle behind Hiccup. Merida was slightly hesitant, but then wrapped her arms around Hiccup, feeling strange at the contact for the first time. She nodded,

"Let's go."

Jack arrived at Rapunzel's tower sometime after the school day had ended and saw her grabbing a packed bag. He noticed the handle of her frying pan sticking out past the zipper. Rapunzel's hair was braided again, neater than usual, he noticed. She smiled when she saw him at her window. "Alright, Jack. Come on." She said, glancing to Pascal on her shoulder. He extended her hand and helped her out of the window, flying out into the sky.

As they went on, Rapunzel spoke up, "So, why Burgess as our meeting place?"

"Why not?" He spoke back and Rapunzel rolled her eyes. She knew from Jack that he spent a lot of his free time there, not to mention some of his kid friends lived there. Jack spoke up again, "If we're going to meet up someplace, it might as well be a town. You and me need something to do while we're waiting on Hiccup and Merida." Rapunzel silently agreed.

When they arrived in Burgess, it was a bit sunnier there, and early enough that school hadn't let out yet. Jack and Rapunzel landed near a cluster of trees and from there began to wander around town. They talked a bit as they walked along further into the city. Jack was mentioning his latest practical joke on Bunny when Rapunzel got a little distracted. The two were passing by a small park covered in snow and she glanced at it longingly. "Rapunzel…?"

"Oh, sorry. It's just…" She sighed sheepishly. "I kind of want to play in that snow over there." Rapunzel knew the statement sounded stupid as soon as it escaped her lips. Jack looked over to the park,

"Oh, that's right. You've never been in the snow before, have you?" Rapunzel shook her head and Jack grinned. "Well, then, let's you and me have a snow day, right now."

"Ok, um, what should we do first?" Rapunzel glanced at Pascal eagerly.

"How about a snowball fight?" Jack stepped into the snow.

Rapunzel, who was following, stopped short. "A snowball fight?" She echoed insecurely. "Well, I mean, don't those get really inten-" She was interrupted by a fistful of snow to the face. Pascal looked up at his friend, gawking. Rapunzel wiped the snow from her face as Jack smirked at her.

"Come on, it's fun, Rapunzel." He bent down for another snowball. Rapunzel raised an eyebrow and then looked to the chameleon on her shoulder.

"You might want to hang tight, Pascal." She said as she reached down for her own snowball. She tossed it at Jack, but he dodged the attack, causing Rapunzel to get frustrated. Soon a snowball fight went underway. Rapunzel managed to hit Jack after a few tries and he chuckled,

"There you go." Before tossing his own. Pascal had scampered down into Rapunzel's hoodie pocket, trying not to get motion sickness as she ran around the park. Jack was clearly winning, but Rapunzel still enjoyed herself. She threw one lucky snowball that hit Jack straight in the chest, catching him a bit by surprise. Rapunzel whooped at her success and Jack allowed her to have her moment.

However, she took a step back, landing on a stray tree twig and flailing backwards. She landed straight on her bottom with a thump, leaving her a bit disoriented. She could hear Jack calling for her to watch out and she gazed up where he pointed. Before she could act, a pile of snow balancing on a tree branch tipped over and landed on top of her.

Jack winced at the sight, half floating over to Rapunzel. She shook the snow away and gazed up to find Jack outstretching his hand. "Need a hand?" Rapunzel exhaled, allowing him to help her up. Rapunzel dusted at her shoulders.

"That _was_ fun, but I guess you winning in the end was inevitable." She looked to Pascal in her pocket, who looked ready to pass out.

"Well, it was your first time after all, Rapunzel." Jack said as they began to depart the park. "That was a good chest shot, though." He complimented. Rapunzel smiled.

"Thanks."

Walking along the streets of Burgess, the two stopped, grabbing a cup of hot chocolate for Rapunzel. The two took a seat on a bench, Rapunzel slipping off her bag. As she sipped her drink, something began to buzz in her pack. "Hm?" Rapunzel looked to it and swallowed. "Hold this for a second, Jack?" He complied and she unzipped her bag, digging around before coming up with a cellphone.

"You've got a phone?" Jack raised an eyebrow. Rapunzel shook her head,

"No, it's Flynn's. He asked me to hold onto it for the weekend. He's grounded and gave it to me before his parents could swipe it." She spoke as she peeked at whoever was calling.

"Heh. Nice." Jack remarked, admitting to Flynn's cleverness much as he didn't really want to.

"Oh, it's him." Rapunzel uttered, holding the phone up to her ear. "Hello? Eugene?"

The smile was wiped off of Jack's face for a second. "Eugene?" He furrowed his brows.

"Oh, ok, there you are. Hold on." Rapunzel spoke into the phone, before turning to Jack quickly.

"Yeah. He doesn't like me calling him that in public, though."

After a second, a gleeful smile spread across Jack's face. "Wait, Flynn's real name is _Eugene_?" He erupted into laughter, "Oh, that is too perfect!"

Rapunzel turned back to him, slightly irritated. Jack hastily cleared his throat, gazing down at Pascal, who also gave him a look. "I'll be quiet." He apologized and Rapunzel continued her conservation with Flynn. Jack waited, Pascal squinting his eyes at him the entire time.

She ended the conversation with, "Of course. I love you, too. Bye." Rapunzel ended the call and tucked the phone back into her backpack.

"Hey. Hiccup and Merida should be coming soon. Let's head over to our meeting spot." Jack stood up, handing back her hot chocolate cup. Rapunzel pulled her bag back on, and grabbed the cup.

"Alright, where to?" She answered and Jack led the way. A little ways down the sidewalk, a person popped up around the corner and before the two could think to do something, walked right through Jack. If Rapunzel had been a little annoyed at Jack before, her irritation was completely gone now. She gaped in shock at what she just witnessed; the man walked off as if nothing happened, but Jack was a little shaken. "J-jack…?"

He ran a hand through his hair, looking back at the man before turning back to Rapunzel. He smiled assuredly, "Don't worry. Happens all the time." Rapunzel was still wide-eyed. "That guy doesn't believe me, that's all. Non-believers can't see, hear, or… or touch me, remember?" He added.

"It doesn't bother you?" Rapunzel asked after a second.

"Not really. Not anymore, at least." Jack responded, trying to calm her down. "Come on, we're almost there." He pointed at a neighborhood across the street. Rapunzel nodded lightly, joining him.

They walked on and after a few minutes arrived in front of red two-story house. "We'll wait up on the roof." Jack helped her up and they took a seat near the chimney, him setting down his staff. Rapunzel was still quiet and Jack could tell she wasn't quite over what she just saw.

"You okay?" He leaned over. Rapunzel looked to him with big eyes.

"I don't know, I just… that was really…" Rapunzel couldn't even articulate. "It was like a slap to the face." Jack knitted his eyebrows together. "I've spent almost my entire life stuck in a tower unable to reach out to **_anyone_**." Rapunzel's tone almost hinted bitterness. "And it is so _frustrating_." Rapunzel said. "How did you deal with that?" She turned Jack.

"Spend 300 years as the invisible boy and you'd know." He replied. Rapunzel stiffened, forgetting just how long he'd been around. _317? _She did the math in her head. Jack noticed her looking and spoke up, "What?"

"Nothing." Rapunzel quickly answered, then sighed. "I guess I'm lucky I have Pascal and Flynn…and my mother." Rapunzel bit her lip, "But sometimes I feel really… lonely." Rapunzel appeared somber, her gaze upon the ground and Pascal looked up at her sympathetically.

Jack frowned, then said, "Hey." She looked up to him. "You've also got Merida and Hiccup and me. And we're not gonna leave you alone." Rapunzel let his words sink in, her eyes glistening. And then she cracked a grin, diving in and wrapping her arms around his neck. Jack was taken aback for a moment, but then returned the embrace, smiling to himself.

"Thanks, Jack." She spoke softly, pulling away slightly. Jack grinned, still holding her. Pascal peeked out of her pocket, raising his 'eyebrows' at the two, their gazes interlocked. But then there was a noise from above and Rapunzel turned away.

"Hey, you two!" A certain red-haired princess called.

Rapunzel beamed, pointing up, "Hiccup! Merida!" Jack withdrew his hands from her (albeit reluctantly) and gazed up. A couple feet up, their friends hovered on Toothless' back. The two stood to their feet, waving. "Hey, Toothless." Rapunzel greeted to the dragon, having not seen him in a while. Jack scratched at the back of his head, greeting Hiccup and Merida. Merida hopped off of Toothless' back, joining Rapunzel. Jack glanced to the girls before turning to Hiccup, "Great timing, Hiccup."

"What? Did something happen?" Hiccup asked, arching an eyebrow. He slid off of Toothless, patting the dragon.

"Almost." Jack replied, gesturing back to Rapunzel. Hiccup quickly understood.

"Oh. Sorry." He said and Jack shrugged, letting it slide. "So, uh, why is this the meeting place, anyway? Some random suburban house?"

"Well, actually…" Jack dug his hands into his hoodie, turning his head to the street where a school bus pulled up. "I'd like to pay a friend a visit." He ended with a smile.

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**I hope this wasn't too short ^^' Review, Follow and Favorite :)**


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